Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method

ABSTRACT

A substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate holding part, a substrate rotating mechanism, and a chamber. The substrate rotating mechanism incudes an annular rotor part disposed in an internal space of the chamber and a stator part disposed around the rotor part outside the chamber. The substrate holding part is attached to the rotor part in the internal space of the chamber. In the substrate rotating mechanism, a rotating force is generated about a central axis between the stator part and the rotor part. The rotor part is thereby rotated about the central axis, being in a floating state, together with a substrate and the substrate holding part. In the substrate processing apparatus, the substrate can be easily rotated in the internal space having excellent sealability. As a result, it is possible to easily perform single-substrate processing in a sealed internal space.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and asubstrate processing method for processing a substrate.

BACKGROUND ART

In a process of manufacturing a semiconductor substrate (hereinafter,referred to simply as a “substrate”), conventionally, variousprocessings are performed on a substrate by using a substrate processingapparatus. By supplying a processing liquid onto a substrate having asurface on which a resist pattern is formed, for example, a processingsuch as etching or the like is performed on the surface of thesubstrate. Further, after the etching is finished, a process of removingthe resist from the substrate and a process of cleaning the substrateare also performed.

In an apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.9-246156 (Document 1), after rinsing a developer or the like on a waferby using a rinse liquid, the wafer is dried. Specifically, a wafer isloaded into a rinse processing part and absorbed by a wafer absorptionpart, and after an opening of the rinse processing part is closed by ashutter, an internal space of the rinse processing part is exhausted.Then, in the internal space which has been brought into a reducedpressure atmosphere, rinse processing is performed by rotating the wafertogether with the wafer absorption part at low speed and supplying therinse liquid thereto, and after that, the wafer is dried by rotating thewafer at high speed.

In such an apparatus as disclosed in Document 1, a driving part such asa servo motor or the like for rotating the wafer absorption part isprovided outside the rinse processing part and mechanically connected tothe wafer absorption part with a rotation axis penetrating an outer wallof the rinse processing part. For this reason, it is necessary toprovide a seal at a portion where the rotation axis penetrates from theoutside of the rinse processing part into the internal space to preventoutflow of the processing liquid and entry of particles. Further, in thecase where the internal space of the rinse processing part is broughtinto a reduced pressure atmosphere, like in the case of Document 1, itis also necessary to prevent inflow and outflow of the atmosphere by theseal. Since such a seal has a very complicated structure, there is apossibility that the apparatus may be complicated or upsized, andmoreover, it is not easy to completely seal the internal space even byusing the seal.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention is intended for a substrate processing apparatusfor processing a substrate, and it is an object of the present inventionto easily achieve single-substrate processing in a sealed space. Thepresent invention is also intended for a substrate processing method forprocessing a substrate.

The substrate processing apparatus according to the present inventionincludes a chamber having a chamber body and a chamber cover and formingan internal space which is sealed by closing an upper opening of thechamber body by the chamber cover, a substrate holding part disposed inthe internal space of the chamber, for holding a substrate horizontally,a substrate rotating mechanism for rotating the substrate together withthe substrate holding part about a central axis oriented in a verticaldirection, and a processing liquid discharge part for discharging aprocessing liquid supplied onto the substrate to the outside of thechamber, and in the substrate processing apparatus of the presentinvention, the substrate rotating mechanism includes an annular rotorpart disposed in the internal space of the chamber, to which thesubstrate holding part is attached, and a stator part disposed aroundthe rotor part outside the chamber, for generating a rotating forcebetween itself and the rotor part. By the substrate processing apparatusof the present invention, it is possible to easily achievesingle-substrate processing in a sealed space.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the substrateprocessing apparatus further includes a processing liquid supply partfor supplying the processing liquid to the inside of the chamber and acontrol part for controlling the substrate rotating mechanism and theprocessing liquid supply part, and in the substrate processing apparatusof the present invention, under the control of the control part, theprocessing liquid is supplied and pooled into the chamber while thesubstrate holding part does not hold any substrate, and the substrateholding part is rotated while at least part of the substrate holdingpart is immersed into the processing liquid in the internal space, tothereby clean the inside of the chamber. It is thereby possible toeasily clean the inside of the chamber.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the processingliquid discharge part discharges the processing liquid from a lowerportion of the internal space, the rotor part is disposed around thesubstrate holding part, and the rotor part includes a liquid receivingsurface opposed to an outer peripheral edge of the substrate in a radialdirection, for receiving the processing liquid spattering from the outerperipheral edge of the substrate and guiding the processing liquiddownward. It is thereby possible to prevent the processing liquid fromsplashing back to the substrate.

In still another preferred embodiment of the present invention, theprocessing liquid discharge part discharges the processing liquid from alower portion of the internal space, the rotor part is disposed aroundthe substrate holding part, an inner peripheral edge of an upper surfaceof the rotor part is in contact with or adjacent to an outer peripheraledge of the upper surface of the substrate, the chamber includes anannular flow channel forming part which forms a flow channel betweenitself and the rotor part, the flow channel for guiding the processingliquid to the processing liquid discharge part and a slit-like openingfor guiding the processing liquid to the flow channel is formed betweenthe inner peripheral edge of the upper surface of the rotor part and theflow channel forming part. It is thereby possible to prevent theprocessing liquid from splashing back to the substrate.

In yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention, thesubstrate holding part includes a plurality of substrate supportingparts for supporting the substrate from below and a plurality ofsubstrate retaining parts for retaining the substrate from above, eachsubstrate supporting part of the plurality of substrate supporting partsis rotatable about a first rotation axis oriented horizontally between afirst waiting position and a first holding position and rotates from thefirst waiting position to the first holding position by placing thesubstrate on a first substrate contact part, to thereby support thesubstrate from below, and each substrate retaining part of the pluralityof substrate retaining parts is rotatable about a second rotation axisoriented horizontally between a second waiting position and a secondholding position and rotates from the second waiting position to thesecond holding position by centrifugal force due to rotation performedby the substrate rotating mechanism, to thereby retain the substratefrom above at a second substrate contact part. It is thereby possible toeasily hold the substrate without providing any driving mechanism fordriving the substrate holding part.

In further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the substrateprocessing apparatus further includes a processing liquid supply partfor supplying the processing liquid onto the substrate in the internalspace, a gas supply part for supplying gas into the internal space, abuffer tank connected to the internal space through a connecting pipe,for temporarily pooling the processing liquid led from the internalspace, in which gas is always continuous with the gas in the internalspace with gas in the connecting pipe interposed therebetween, a gasdischarge part for discharging the gas from the buffer tank, and apressure control part for controlling a pressure in the internal spaceof the chamber by controlling the gas supply part and the gas dischargepart, and in the substrate processing apparatus of the presentinvention, the processing liquid discharge part discharges theprocessing liquid pooled in the buffer tank. It is thereby possible tocontrol the pressure in the internal space of the chamber with highaccuracy.

The substrate processing method according to the present inventionincludes a) supplying and pooling a processing liquid into a chamberwhile a substrate holding part disposed in an internal space sealedinside the chamber does not hold any substrate and b) cleaning theinside of the chamber by rotating the substrate holding part whileimmersing at least part of the substrate holding part into theprocessing liquid in the internal space.

These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of the present invention when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view showing a configuration of a substrate processingapparatus in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing functions of a control part;

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a substrate holding part;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view showing a chuck part;

FIGS. 5 to 8 are cross sections each showing the chuck part;

FIG. 9 is a cross section showing a rotor part;

FIGS. 10 to 12 are cross sections each showing a substrate processingapparatus;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of substrateprocessing;

FIG. 14 is a cross section showing the substrate processing apparatus;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of cleaning of theinside of the chamber;

FIGS. 16 and 17 are cross sections each showing the substrate processingapparatus;

FIG. 18 is a cross section showing part of a substrate processingapparatus in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 19 is a cross section showing part of a substrate processingapparatus in accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 20 is a cross section showing a substrate processing apparatus inaccordance with a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 21 and 22 are cross sections each showing the substrate processingapparatus;

FIG. 23 is a cross section showing a substrate processing apparatus inaccordance with a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 24 is a view showing a detailed configuration relating to pressurecontrol;

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing part of an operation flow of substrateprocessing;

FIG. 26 is a view showing another detailed configuration relating topressure control;

FIG. 27 is a cross section showing a substrate processing apparatus inaccordance with a sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 28 and 29 are cross sections each showing the substrate processingapparatus; FIG. 30 is a view of a chuck part corresponding to FIG. 4,showing distinct first and second rotation axes;

FIG. 31 is a view of a chuck part corresponding to FIG. 5, showingdistinct first and second rotation axes; and

FIG. 32 is a view of a chuck part corresponding to FIG. 6, showingdistinct first and second rotation axes.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a view showing a configuration of a substrate processingapparatus 1 in accordance with the first preferred embodiment of thepresent invention. The substrate processing apparatus 1 is asingle-substrate processing apparatus which supplies a processing liquidonto a semiconductor substrate 9 (hereinafter, referred to simply as a“substrate 9”) having a substantially disk-like shape and therebyprocesses substrates one by one.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a substrate holding part2, a first processing liquid supply part 31, a second processing liquidsupply part 32, a third processing liquid supply part 33, a substratemoving mechanism 4 (see FIG. 10), a substrate rotating mechanism 5, agas supply part 61, a suction part 62, a chamber 7, a heating part 79,and a control part 11 for controlling these constituent elements (seeFIG. 2). FIG. 1 is a cross section showing the substrate rotatingmechanism 5, the chamber 7, and the like. The substrate holding part 2can hold a substrate 9, and FIG. 1 shows a state where the substrateholding part 2 holds a substrate 9.

The chamber 7 includes a chamber body 71, a chamber cover 73, and acover moving mechanism 74. The chamber body 71 and the chamber cover 73are each formed of a non-magnetic material. The chamber body 71 includesa chamber bottom 711 and a chamber sidewall 712. The chamber bottom 711has a substantially disk-like shape with a central axis J1 oriented in avertical direction as its center and has an annular recessed portion 714at its outer peripheral portion. The chamber sidewall 712 has asubstantially cylindrical shape with the central axis J1 as its centerand is continuous with an outer peripheral portion of the annularrecessed portion 714 of the chamber bottom 711. Then, a space surroundedby the annular recessed portion 714 and the chamber sidewall 712 is alower annular space 717. The annular recessed portion 714 is formed sothat an outer peripheral edge of a substrate 9 held by the substrateholding part 2 may be accommodated within the width of the annularrecessed portion 714 in processing the substrate 9. For this reason, inprocessing the substrate 9, the lower annular space 717 is positionedbelow the outer peripheral edge of the substrate 9. The chamber cover 73has a substantially disk-like shape with the central axis J1 as itscenter and serves to close an upper opening of the chamber body 71. Thechamber cover 73 is opposed to one main surface 91 (hereinafter,referred to as an “upper surface 91”) of the substrate 9, on which afine pattern is formed, in the vertical direction, and the chamberbottom 711 is opposed to a lower surface 92 which is the other mainsurface of the substrate 9 in the vertical direction. Inside the chamberbottom 711, a heater serving as the heating part 79 is provided.

The cover moving mechanism 74 moves the chamber cover 73 in the verticaldirection. In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the substrate 9 isloaded and unloaded into/from the chamber 7 while the chamber cover 73which has been moved upward is positioned away from the chamber body 71.Further, by pressing the chamber cover 73 against an upper portion ofthe chamber sidewall 712 to close the upper opening of the chamber body71, the internal space 70 is formed, being sealed.

The chamber cover 73 includes a cover protruding portion 731 protrudingdownward. The cover protruding portion 731 has a substantiallycylindrical shape with the central axis J1 as its center and has anouter peripheral surface 733 having a cylindrical shape with the centralaxis J1 as its center. While the internal space 70 is formed by closingthe upper opening of the chamber body 71 by the chamber cover 73, thatis, the chamber 7 is sealed, a space between the outer peripheralsurface 733 of the cover protruding portion 731 and the inner peripheralsurface 713 of the chamber sidewall 712 becomes an upper annular space732. Since a bottom surface of the cover protruding portion 731 having asubstantially cylindrical shape is slightly smaller than the uppersurface 91 of the substrate 9 held by the substrate holding part 2, theupper annular space 732 is positioned above the outer peripheral edge ofthe substrate 9 when the substrate 9 is processed.

A first upper nozzle 75 is attached to a center portion of the chambercover 73, and a second upper nozzle 78 having an annular cross sectionis provided around the first upper nozzle 75. To the first upper nozzle75, connected are the first processing liquid supply part 31, the secondprocessing liquid supply part 32, and the third processing liquid supplypart 33 through an upper switching part 751. To the second upper nozzle78, connected is the gas supply part 61.

A lower nozzle 76 is attached to a center portion of the chamber bottom711. To the lower nozzle 76, connected are the first processing liquidsupply part 31 and the second processing liquid supply part 32 through alower switching part 761. Further, a plurality of lower discharge parts77 are provided at an outer peripheral portion of the chamber bottom 711at regular pitches in a circumferential direction about the central axisJ1. The plurality of lower discharge parts 77 are connected to thesuction part 62.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing functions of the control part 11. FIG.2 also shows constituent elements connected to the control part 11. Asshown in FIG. 2, the control part 11 includes a liquid supply controlpart 111, a pressure control part 112, a rotation control part 113, anda temperature control part 114.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the liquid supply control part111 controls the first processing liquid supply part 31, the upperswitching part 751, and the lower switching part 761 to supply a firstprocessing liquid from the first upper nozzle 75 onto a center portionof the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 and supply the firstprocessing liquid from the lower nozzle 76 onto a center portion of thelower surface 92 of the substrate 9 in the internal space 70 shown inFIG. 1. Further, the liquid supply control part 111 controls the secondprocessing liquid supply part 32, the upper switching part 751, and thelower switching part 761 to supply a second processing liquid from thefirst upper nozzle 75 onto the center portion of the upper surface 91 ofthe substrate 9 and supply the second processing liquid from the lowernozzle 76 onto the center portion of the lower surface 92 of thesubstrate 9.

Furthermore, the liquid supply control part 111 controls the thirdprocessing liquid supply part 33 and the upper switching part 751 tosupply a third processing liquid from the first upper nozzle 75 onto thecenter portion of the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9. In thispreferred embodiment, the first processing liquid is an etching solutionsuch as hydrofluoric acid, a tetramethylammonium hydroxide solution, orthe like, and the second processing liquid is deionized water (DIW). Thethird processing liquid is isopropyl alcohol (IPA). Further, also inorder to stop the supply of the processing liquids from the first uppernozzle 75 and the lower nozzle 76, the upper switching part 751 and thelower switching part 761 are controlled.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the pressure control part 112shown in FIG. 2 controls the gas supply part 61 to supply gas into theinternal space 70 of the chamber 7 from the second upper nozzle 78 shownin FIG. 1. In this preferred embodiment, the gas supply part 61 suppliesnitrogen gas (N₂) to the inside of the chamber 7. The suction part 62performs suction through the plurality of lower discharge parts 77, tothereby discharge the gas from the internal space 70 of the chamber 7.Thus, the suction part 62 and the lower discharge parts 77 serve as agas discharge part.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the pressure control part 112controls the gas supply part 61 and the suction part 62 to control apressure in the internal space 70 of the chamber 7. Specifically, whilethe suction of the suction part 62 is stopped, the gas supply part 61supplies gas to the inside of the chamber 7, to thereby increase thepressure in the internal space 70 of the chamber 7 to be higher than thenormal pressure (atmospheric pressure) and bring the internal space 70into a pressurized atmosphere. Further, while the supply of gas from thegas supply part 61 is stopped, the suction part 62 discharges the gasfrom the chamber 7 to the outside of the chamber 7, to thereby decreasethe pressure in the internal space 70 to be lower than the normalpressure and bring the internal space 70 into a reduced pressureatmosphere.

The suction part 62 performs suction through the plurality of lowerdischarge parts 77, to thereby discharge the processing liquid which hasbeen supplied onto the substrate 9 from the first processing liquidsupply part 31, the second processing liquid supply part 32, or thethird processing liquid supply part 33, from a lower portion of theinternal space 70 to the outside of the chamber 7. Thus, the suctionpart 62 and the lower discharge parts 77 serve as a processing liquiddischarge part.

The substrate rotating mechanism 5 is a so-called hollow motor. Thesubstrate rotating mechanism 5 includes an annular stator part 51 and anannular rotor part 52. The rotor part 52 is disposed in the internalspace 70 of the chamber 7. A lower portion of the rotor part 52 ispositioned inside the lower annular space 717 of the chamber body 71.The rotor part 52 includes a permanent magnet 521 having a substantiallyannular shape. A surface of the permanent magnet 521 is coated with afluorocarbon resin. The substrate holding part 2 is attached to therotor part 52.

The stator part 51 is disposed around the rotor part 52 outside thechamber 7 (that is, outside the internal space 70). In this preferredembodiment, the stator part 51 is fixed, being in contact with an outerperipheral surface of the chamber sidewall 712. The stator part 51includes a plurality of coil parts arranged in the circumferentialdirection about the central axis J1.

In the substrate rotating mechanism 5, by supplying current to thestator part 51, a rotating force is generated about the central axis J1between the stator part 51 and the rotor part 52. The rotor part 52thereby rotates horizontally about the central axis J1 together with thesubstrate 9 and the substrate holding part 2. In the substrateprocessing apparatus 1, by magnetic force exerted between the statorpart 51 and the rotor part 52 with the current supplied to the statorpart 51, the rotor part 52 floats in the internal space 70, not being indirect or indirect contact with the chamber 7, and rotates, being in afloating state.

When the supply of current to the stator part 51 is stopped, the rotorpart 52 is attracted toward the chamber sidewall 712 by magnetic forceexerted between the permanent magnet 521 and a magnetic material such asa core of the stator part 51. Then, part of an outer peripheral surfaceof the rotor part 52 comes into contact with the inner peripheralsurface 713 of the chamber sidewall 712 and is supported by the statorpart 51 with the chamber sidewall 712 interposed therebetween. The rotorpart 52 comes to rest, not being in contact with the chamber bottom 711or the chamber cover 73.

The substrate holding part 2 is attached to the rotor part 52 anddisposed in the internal space 70 of the chamber 7 as discussed above.The substrate 9 is held by the substrate holding part 2 with the uppersurface 91 thereof directed upward substantially perpendicular to thecentral axis J1. In other words, the substrate holding part 2horizontally holds the substrate 9.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the substrate holding part 2. FIG. 3 alsoshows a chuck supporting part 26 for supporting the substrate holdingpart 2. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the substrate holding part 2 includesa plurality of chuck parts 21 each for holding the substrate 9 bysandwiching an outer edge thereof from above and below. In thispreferred embodiment, six chuck parts 21 are arranged in thecircumferential direction at regular angular intervals (of 60°) in thecircumferential direction. The chuck supporting part 26 includes anannular portion 261 having a substantially annular disk-like shape and aplurality of protruding portions 262 protruding inward in a radialdirection from the annular portion 261. As shown in FIG. 1, the annularportion 261 is fixed to a lower end of the rotor part 52. The pluralityof protruding portions 262 are positioned on an inner side relative tothe rotor part 52 in the radial direction about the central axis J1, andthe chuck part 21 is attached onto each of the protruding portions 262.The plurality of chuck parts 21 are also disposed on an inner siderelative to the rotor part 52 in the radial direction. Further, a lowerportion of each of the chuck parts 21 and the chuck supporting part 26are positioned inside the annular recessed portion 714.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view showing one chuck part 21. The otherchuck parts 21 each have the same structure as that of the chuck part 21shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, each of the chuck parts 21 includesone substrate supporting part 22 for supporting the substrate 9 frombelow and two substrate retaining parts 23 for retaining the substrate 9from above. In the chuck part 21, the two substrate retaining parts 23are disposed on both sides of the substrate supporting part 22 in thecircumferential direction, adjacently to the substrate supporting part22.

FIG. 5 is a cross section showing the chuck part 21, taken along a lineA-A of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a cross section showing the chuck part 21,taken along a line B-B of FIG. 4. Both FIGS. 5 and 6 also show a portionbehind the cross section of the chuck part 21 and the cross section ofthe rotor part 52 (the same applies to FIGS. 7 and 8). As shown in FIGS.4 to 6, the chuck part 21 further includes a frame 24 and a rotationaxis 25. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the frame 24 is disposed on an innerside relative to an inner peripheral surface 522 of the rotor part 52. Alower end portion of the frame 24 is attached to a lower end portion ofthe rotor part 52 with the chuck supporting part 26 interposedtherebetween. The rotation axis 25 is attached to an upper end portionof the frame 24, being oriented horizontally.

As shown in FIG. 5, the substrate supporting part 22 includes asupporting body 221 and a first stopper 222. The supporting body 221 isprovided with a through hole into which the rotation axis 25 isinserted, and is rotatable about the rotation axis 25. The first stopper222 is attached to the frame 24, being threadedly engaged in a screwhole which is provided at an upper portion of the frame 24 and orientedvertically. The position of the first stopper 222 in the verticaldirection is easily changeable by rotating the first stopper 222.

The supporting body 221 has a first substrate contact part 223 and afirst anchor part 224. The first substrate contact part 223 ispositioned on an inner side relative to the rotation axis 25 in theradial direction, coming into contact with the outer edge of thesubstrate 9 from below. The first anchor part 224 is positioned belowthe rotation axis 25. The first stopper 222 is positioned above thefirst anchor part 224, coming into contact with an upper portion of thefirst anchor part 224. It is thereby possible to prevent the firstanchor part 224 from rotating counterclockwise from the state shown inFIG. 5 and moving upward.

In the substrate supporting part 22, a barycentric position G1 of thesupporting body 221 is positioned below the rotation axis 25 on an outerside relative to the rotation axis 25 in the radial direction.Therefore, when the substrate 9 is removed from on the first substratecontact part 223, the supporting body 221 rotates clockwise from theposition shown in FIG. 5 and is brought into a state shown in FIG. 7where the barycentric position G1 is positioned just below the rotationaxis 25 in the vertical direction. In the following discussion, aposition of the supporting body 221 shown in FIG. 5 is referred to as a“first holding position” and a position of the supporting body 221 shownin FIG. 7 is referred to as a “first waiting position”.

As discussed above, the supporting body 221 is rotatable about therotation axis 25 between the first waiting position and the firstholding position. In the substrate supporting part 22, the substrate 9is placed on the first substrate contact part 223, and with the weightof the substrate 9 applied to the first substrate contact part 223, thesupporting body 221 rotates from the first waiting position shown inFIG. 7 to the first holding position shown in FIG. 5, where thesupporting body 221 supports the substrate 9 from below. Further, whilethe substrate 9 is placed on the first substrate contact part 223, themovement of the supporting body 221 is limited with the first anchorpart 224 brought into contact with the first stopper 222.

The first substrate contact part 223 has a first contact surface 225which is a surface to be brought into contact with the outer edge of thesubstrate 9. As shown in FIG. 5, while the substrate supporting part 22is positioned at the first holding position, the first contact surface225 is a sloped surface which goes downward as it goes inward in theradial direction. To be precise, the first contact surface 225 is partof a conical surface. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, while the substratesupporting part 22 is positioned at the first waiting position, thefirst contact surface 225 is a substantially horizontal ring-shapedsurface. An outer edge 226 of the first contact surface 225 in theradial direction in the case where the substrate supporting part 22 ispositioned at the first waiting position is positioned on an outer sidein the radial direction relative to the edge 226 in the case where thesubstrate supporting part 22 is positioned at the first holdingposition. Therefore, since a mountable area for the substrate 9 islarger than that in a structure where the substrate supporting part 22is fixed at the first holding position regardless of the presence orabsence of the substrate 9, it becomes possible to more easily mount thesubstrate 9 onto the first contact surface 225 of the first substratecontact part 223.

As shown in FIG. 6, the substrate retaining part 23 includes a retainingbody 231. The retaining body 231 is provided with a through hole intowhich the rotation axis 25 is inserted, and is rotatable about therotation axis 25. Assuming that the center of rotation of theabove-described supporting body 221 is referred to as a “first rotationaxis” and the center of rotation of the retaining body 231 is referredto as a “second rotation axis”, the first rotation axis of the substratesupporting part 22 and the second rotation axis of the substrateretaining part 23 which is disposed adjacently to the substratesupporting part 22 are the same one, i.e., the rotation axis 25.

FIGS. 30-32 are views of chuck parts respectively corresponding to FIGS.4-6, each showing distinct first and second rotation axes.

The retaining body 231 has a second substrate contact part 233 and asecond anchor part 234. The second substrate contact part 233 ispositioned on an inner side relative to the rotation axis 25 in theradial direction, coming into contact with the outer edge of thesubstrate 9 from above. The second anchor part 234 is positioned belowthe rotation axis 25.

In the substrate retaining part 23, while the rotor part 52 and thesubstrate holding part 2 are both still, the retaining body 231 rotatesby its own weight from the position shown in FIG. 6, causing a stateshown in FIG. 8 where a barycentric position G2 is positioned just belowthe rotation axis 25 in the vertical direction. The second anchor part234 has such a shape as not to come into contact with the chamber bottom711 and the like disposed on an inner side in the radial direction inthe state of FIG. 8. In the state of FIG. 8, the second substratecontact part 233 is positioned above the substrate 9, being awaytherefrom, and on an outer side relative to the outer edge of thesubstrate 9 in the radial direction. In the following discussion, aposition of the retaining body 231 shown in FIG. 6 is referred to as a“second holding position” and a position of the retaining body 231 shownin FIG. 8 is referred to as a “second waiting position”.

The retaining body 231 is rotatable about the rotation axis 25 betweenthe second waiting position and the second holding position. In thesubstrate processing apparatus 1, when the substrate holding part 2 isrotated together with the rotor part 52, centrifugal force due torotation performed by the substrate rotating mechanism 5 is exerted onthe second anchor part 234, and the retaining body 231 thereby rotatesfrom the second waiting position shown in FIG. 8 to the second holdingposition shown in FIG. 6, where the retaining body 231 retains thesubstrate 9 from above at the second substrate contact part 233. Thesecond substrate contact part 233 has a second contact surface 235 whichis a surface to be brought into contact with the outer edge of thesubstrate 9. As shown in FIG. 6, while the substrate retaining part 23is positioned at the second holding position, the second contact surface235 is a sloped surface which goes upward as it goes inward in theradial direction.

Further, when the rotation of the rotor part 52 is stopped and thecentrifugal force exerted on the second anchor part 234 is released, theretaining body 231 rotates clockwise from the second holding position inFIG. 6. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, while the barycentric position G2 ofthe second anchor part 234 is positioned just below the rotation axis 25in the vertical direction, the retaining body 231 stops rotating, to bepositioned at the second waiting position.

FIG. 9 is a cross section showing the rotor part 52 taken at a positionwhere the chuck part 21 is not provided. FIG. 9 also shows the substrate9 held by the substrate holding part 2 (see FIG. 3). As shown in FIG. 9,the rotor part 52 is provided across from a position upper than theupper surface 91 of the substrate 9 to a position lower than the lowersurface 92 of the substrate 9 in the vertical direction. The innerperipheral surface 522 of the rotor part 52 includes a cylindricalliquid receiving surface 523 which is opposed to the outer peripheraledge of the substrate 9 in the radial direction to receive theprocessing liquid spattering from the outer peripheral edge of thesubstrate 9. The liquid receiving surface 523 extends upward to behigher than the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 in the verticaldirection and also extends downward to be lower than the lower surface92 of the substrate 9. Further, the liquid receiving surface 523 is asloped surface which gradually goes outward in the radial direction asit goes downward, thereby guiding the processing liquid received fromthe substrate 9 downward. In this preferred embodiment, the liquidreceiving surface 523 shown in FIG. 9 has a substantially arc crosssection. Further, the cross section of the liquid receiving surface 523may have various shapes. For example, the cross section of the liquidreceiving surface 523 may have a linear shape which goes outward in theradial direction as it goes downward. The rotor part 52 includes anannular protruding portion 524 protruding inward in the radial directionon an upper side of the liquid receiving surface 523.

FIG. 10 is a cross section showing the substrate processing apparatus 1taken at a position which goes through the central axis J1 and isdifferent from that in FIG. 1. In FIG. 10, the first processing liquidsupply part 31, the second processing liquid supply part 32, the thirdprocessing liquid supply part 33, the gas supply part 61, the suctionpart 62, and the like are omitted, and a side view of the substratemoving mechanism 4, the cover moving mechanism 74, and the like is shown(the same applies to FIGS. 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, and the like).

As shown in FIG. 10, the substrate moving mechanism 4 includes aplurality of lift pins 41, a lift pin moving mechanism 42, a pluralityof lift pin rotating mechanisms 43, and a lift pin supporting part 44.The plurality of (four in this preferred embodiment) lift pins 41 arearranged at regular angular intervals in the circumferential directionabout the central axis J1 above the outer edge of the substrate 9. Thefour lift pins 41 are disposed so as to sidestep the plurality of chuckparts 21 (see FIG. 3) in the circumferential direction. Each of the liftpins 41 is inserted into a through hole penetrating the chamber cover73, and the through hole is sealed to avoid the flow of gas.

A lower portion of each lift pin 41 protrudes downward from the chambercover 73. While the chamber 7 is sealed, the plurality of lift pins 41are disposed in the upper annular space 732 around the cover protrudingportion 731. In other words, the cover protruding portion 731 of thechamber cover 73 is positioned on an inner side relative to theplurality of lift pins 41 in the radial direction. Each of the lift pins41 has a hook part 412 protruding in a substantially horizontaldirection from a tip portion 411 (i.e., a lower end portion). In thestate of FIG. 10, the tip portions 411 and the hook parts 412 of thelift pins 41 are positioned above the upper surface 91 of the substrate9 held by the substrate holding part 2 (see FIG. 1). In the followingdiscussion, a position where the lift pins 41 and the tip portions 411thereof are located as shown in FIG. 10 is referred to an “escapeposition”.

Respective upper portions of the lift pins 41 are supported by the liftpin supporting part 44 with the lift pin rotating mechanisms 43interposed therebetween above the chamber cover 73. The lift pinsupporting part 44 is attached to the cover moving mechanism 74 with thelift pin moving mechanism 42 interposed therebetween. In the substratemoving mechanism 4, by driving the lift pin moving mechanism 42, thelift pin supporting part 44 is moved vertically. The plurality of liftpins 41 are thereby moved in the vertical direction relatively to thechamber cover 73 while the chamber cover 73 is still.

In order to unload the substrate 9 held by the substrate holding part 2to the outside of the chamber 7, the lift pin moving mechanism 42 isdriven to cause the plurality of lift pins 41 to move downward from theescape position shown in FIG. 10, and the respective tip portions 411 ofthe plurality of lift pins 41 are positioned to be slightly lower thanthe lower surface 92 of the substrate 9 as shown in FIG. 11. In thefollowing discussion, a position where the lift pins 41 and the tipportions 411 thereof are located relatively to the chamber cover 73 asshown in FIG. 11 is referred to a “transfer position”. During a periodwhile each of the tip portions 411 is moved, the hook part 412 of thetip portion 411 is oriented in the circumferential direction.Subsequently, the plurality of lift pin rotating mechanisms 43 aredriven to cause the plurality of lift pins 41 to rotate 90 degrees,respectively, and the respective hook parts 412 are directed inward inthe radial direction. In this state, the respective hook parts 412 ofthe lift pins 41 are positioned to be slightly lower than the lowersurface 92 of the substrate 9, not being in contact with the substrate 9held by the substrate supporting part 22. Then, the chamber cover 73 ismoved upward by the cover moving mechanism 74, and the plurality of liftpins 41 thereby slightly go upward to bring the hook parts 412 of thelift pins 41 into contact with the lower surface 92 of the substrate 9.Thus, the substrate 9 is transferred from the substrate holding part 2to the plurality of lift pins 41.

In the substrate moving mechanism 4, thus, the respective tip portions411 of the plurality of lift pins 41 are moved down from the escapeposition shown in FIG. 10 to the transfer position shown in FIG. 11 bythe lift pin moving mechanism 42, and at the transfer position, thesubstrate 9 is transferred between the plurality of lift pins 41 and thesubstrate holding part 2 (see FIG. 1). After the plurality of lift pins41 each rotate 90 degrees and the hook parts 412 are directed inward inthe radial direction and positioned below the substrate 9, the covermoving mechanism 74 is driven to cause the constituent elements in thesubstrate moving mechanism 4 to go upward together with the chambercover 73. At that time, the rotor part 52 is still and the substrateretaining part 23 is positioned at the second waiting position shown inFIG. 8. Therefore, since the second substrate contact part 233 of thesubstrate retaining part 23 is positioned on an outer side in the radialdirection relative to the outer peripheral edge of the substrate 9,being away from the substrate 9, the substrate retaining part 23 doesnot block the rise of the substrate 9. Further, after the substrate 9 ismoved apart from the substrate supporting part 22, the substratesupporting part 22 rotates from the first holding position shown in FIG.5 to the first waiting position shown in FIG. 7.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, as shown in FIG. 12, while thechamber cover 73 is positioned above and apart from the chamber body 71,the substrate 9 held on the respective hook parts 412 of the pluralityof lift pins 41 is unloaded by a not-shown arm. In the followingdiscussion, a position of the chamber cover 73 shown in FIG. 12, i.e., aposition above and away from the chamber body 71 is referred to as an“opening position”. Further, a position of the chamber cover 73 shown inFIGS. 10 and 11, i.e., a position where the chamber cover 73 closes theopening of the chamber body 71 to form the internal space 70 is referredto as a “closing position”.

In order to load the substrate 9 into the chamber 7, the substrate 9held by the not-shown arm approaches the chamber cover 73 positioned atthe opening position shown in FIG. 12 and is mounted on the respectivehook parts 412 of the plurality of lift pins 41. Subsequently, thechamber cover 73 is moved downward by the cover moving mechanism 74, tobe positioned at the closing position. In a process where the chambercover 73 goes down, as shown in FIG. 11, the substrate 9 is transferredfrom the respective hook parts 412 of the plurality of lift pins 41which are positioned at the transfer position, to the plurality ofsubstrate supporting parts 22 of the substrate holding part 2 (see FIG.5).

Then, after the substrate 9 is moved apart from the respective hookparts 412 of the plurality of lift pins 41, the lift pins 41 are rotated90 degrees by the plurality of lift pin rotating mechanisms 43,respectively. The plurality of hook parts 412 are thereby moved frombelow the substrate 9 to the outer side in the radial direction relativeto the outer peripheral edge of the substrate 9. After that, theplurality of lift pins 41 are moved upward by the lift pin movingmechanism 42, to be positioned at the escape position shown in FIG. 10.Specifically, when the chamber cover 73 is positioned at the closingposition and the lift pins 41 are positioned at the escape position, thelift pins 41 are accommodated in the upper annular space 732 as shown inFIG. 10.

Next, with reference to FIG. 13, discussion will be made on an operationflow for processing the substrate 9 in the substrate processingapparatus 1. In the substrate processing apparatus 1, first, the chambercover 73 holding the substrate 9 with the plurality of lift pins 41shown in FIG. 12 is moved down from the opening position to the closingposition shown in FIG. 11. With this movement, the internal space 70 isformed in the chamber 7 and the substrate 9 is supported from below bythe plurality of substrate supporting parts 22 (see FIG. 5). After theinternal space 70 is formed, the gas supply part 61 and the suction part62 are driven, the internal space 70 is brought into a nitrogenatmosphere of normal pressure. Then, the plurality of lift pins 41 aremoved upward to the escape position and the substrate rotating mechanism5 is controlled by the rotation control part 113 of the control part 11(see FIG. 2), to thereby start rotation of the rotor part 52, thesubstrate holding part 2, and the substrate 9 shown in FIG. 1 (StepS11). In the substrate holding part 2, with the centrifugal force due tothe rotation exerted thereon, the retaining bodies 231 are rotated, tocause the second substrate contact parts 233 to retain the substrate 9from above as shown in FIG. 6. The substrate 9 is thereby held by thesubstrate holding part 2 (Step S12).

Subsequently, the temperature control part 114 (see FIG. 2) controls theheating part 79, to heat the substrate 9 for a predetermined time periodin the internal space 70 under normal pressure (Step S13). After theheating of the substrate 9 is finished, the liquid supply control part111 controls the first processing liquid supply part 31, to continuouslysupply the first processing liquid which is an etching solution from thefirst upper nozzle 75 shown in FIG. 1 onto the upper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9 being rotated. The first processing liquid supplied onto thecenter portion of the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 is spreadtoward the outer peripheral portion thereof by the rotation of thesubstrate 9, and the entire upper surface 91 is coated with the firstprocessing liquid (Step S14). Further, the first processing liquid isalso supplied onto the center portion of the lower surface 92 of thesubstrate 9 from the lower nozzle 76 and spread toward the outerperipheral portion thereof by the rotation of the substrate 9. The firstprocessing liquid flowing from the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9and the first processing liquid flowing from the lower surface 92 of thesubstrate 9 are sucked by the suction part 62 and discharged through thelower discharge parts 77 to the outside of the chamber 7.

After coating of the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 with the firstprocessing liquid is finished, the pressure control part 112 controlsthe gas supply part 61 and the suction part 62, to increase the pressurein the internal space 70 of the chamber 7 to be a predetermined pressurehigher than the normal pressure (preferably, higher than the normalpressure and not higher than a pressure which is higher than the normalpressure by about 0.1 MPa). Further, the first processing liquid supplypart 31 and the substrate rotating mechanism 5 are controlled, tothereby decrease the amount of first processing liquid supplied per unittime (hereinafter, referred to as “flow rate”) and decrease the numberof rotation of the substrate 9. When the internal space 70 of thechamber 7 comes into a predetermined pressurized atmosphere, the firstprocessing liquid is continuously supplied at the flow rate lower thanthat in Step S14 onto the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 beingrotated at the number of rotation lower than that in Step S14, and anetching process is performed for a predetermined time period (Step S15).

In Step S15, after the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 is coatedwith the first processing liquid, the pressure in the internal space 70of the chamber 7 is increased to bring the internal space 70 into thepressurized atmosphere, to thereby squeeze the first processing liquidinto a gap between fine patterns (hereinafter, referred to as a “patterngap”) on the substrate 9. As a result, it is possible to cause the firstprocessing liquid to more easily enter the pattern gap. It is therebypossible to appropriately perform the etching process in the patterngap. This suppresses vaporization of the first processing liquid on thesubstrate 9 as compared with under normal pressure, and furthersuppresses a decrease in the temperature of the substrate 9 due to theheat of vaporization as it goes from the center portion of the substrate9 toward the peripheral portion thereof. As a result, it is possible toimprove uniformity in the temperature of the upper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9 being subjected to the etching process using the firstprocessing liquid and improve the uniformity of etching over the entireupper surface 91 of the substrate 9. Further, the uniformity of etchingover the entire lower surface 92 of the substrate 9 can be alsoimproved.

As discussed above, the number of rotation of the substrate 9 in theetching process performed on the substrate 9 in Step S15 is smaller thanthat of the substrate 9 in the process of coating the upper surface 91of the substrate 9 with the first processing liquid in Step S14. Thisfurther suppresses vaporization of the first processing liquid from thesubstrate 9 and it is thereby possible to further improve the uniformityin the temperature of the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 beingsubjected to the etching process. As a result, it is possible to furtherimprove the uniformity of etching over the entire upper surface 91 ofthe substrate 9.

Subsequently, the pressure control part 112 controls the gas supply part61 and suction part 62, to thereby decrease the pressure in the internalspace 70 of the chamber 7 back to the normal pressure. Then, the supplyof the first processing liquid from the first processing liquid supplypart 31 is stopped, and the heating of the substrate 9 by the heatingpart 79 is also stopped.

Next, the liquid supply control part 111 controls the second processingliquid supply part 32, to thereby continuously supply the secondprocessing liquid which is deionized water from the first upper nozzle75 onto the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 being rotated. Thesecond processing liquid supplied onto the center portion of the uppersurface 91 of the substrate 9 which is coated with the first processingliquid is spread toward the outer peripheral portion thereof, and thefirst processing liquid on the upper surface 91 is moved outward in theradial direction and spatters from the outer peripheral edge of thesubstrate 9 to the outside. Further, the second processing liquid issupplied from the lower nozzle 76 onto the center portion of the lowersurface 92 of the substrate 9 and spread toward the outer peripheralportion thereof by the rotation of the substrate 9. Then, the secondprocessing liquid continues to be supplied from the first upper nozzle75 and the lower nozzle 76 and a rinse process is thereby performed onthe upper surface 91 and the lower surface 92 of the substrate 9 for apredetermined time period (Step S16).

The first processing liquid and the second processing liquid spatteringfrom the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 is received by the liquidreceiving surface 523 of the rotor part 52 (see FIG. 9) and guideddownward, i.e., to the lower discharge parts 77. Then, the first andsecond processing liquids from the upper surface 91, together with thesecond processing liquid from the lower surface 92 of the substrate 9,are sucked by the suction part 62 and discharged through the lowerdischarge parts 77 to the outside of the chamber 7.

After the rinse process is finished, the supply of the second processingliquid from the second processing liquid supply part 32 is stopped, andthe liquid supply control part 111 controls the third processing liquidsupply part 33, to continuously supply the third processing liquid whichis isopropyl alcohol (IPA) from the first upper nozzle 75 onto the uppersurface 91 of the substrate 9 being rotated. The third processing liquidsupplied onto the center portion of the upper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9 which is coated with the second processing liquid is spreadtoward the outer peripheral portion thereof between a liquid film of thesecond processing liquid and the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 bythe rotation of the substrate 9, to coat the upper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9. The liquid film of the second processing liquid ispositioned on a liquid film of the third processing liquid, being awayfrom the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9. In other words, an IPAreplacement process is performed on the upper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9 (Step S17).

Subsequently, the pressure control part 112 controls the gas supply part61 and the suction part 62, to bring the internal space 70 of thechamber 7 into a predetermined pressurized atmosphere (Step S18). Thepressure in the internal space 70 is preferably higher than the normalpressure and not higher than a pressure which is higher than the normalpressure by about 0.1 MPa. It is thereby possible to cause the thirdprocessing liquid to more easily enter the pattern gap, and it is alsopossible to efficiently replace the second processing liquid in thepattern gap with the third processing liquid.

The second processing liquid on the liquid film of the third processingliquid is moved outward in the radial direction by the rotation of thesubstrate 9 and spatters from the outer peripheral edge of the substrate9 to the outside. The second processing liquid spattering from thesubstrate 9 is received and guided downward by the liquid receivingsurface 523 of the rotor part 52 and discharged by the suction part 62through the lower discharge parts 77 to the outside of the chamber 7.

When a predetermined time passes after the internal space 70 is broughtinto the pressurized atmosphere, the gas supply part 61 and the suctionpart 62 are controlled to decrease the pressure of the internal space 70of the chamber 7 to a predetermined pressure lower than the normalpressure (preferably, lower than the normal pressure and not lower thanabout 15 kPa) (Step S19). Further, the heating part 79 is controlled toheat the substrate 9.

Then, while the internal space 70 is brought into a predeterminedreduced pressure atmosphere, the substrate rotating mechanism 5 iscontrolled to increase the number of rotation of the substrate 9, andthe substrate 9 thus rotates at high speed. The third processing liquidon the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 is thereby moved outward inthe radial direction and spatters from the outer peripheral edge of thesubstrate 9 to the outside. The third processing liquid spattering fromthe substrate 9 is also received and guided downward by the liquidreceiving surface 523 of the rotor part 52 and discharged by the suctionpart 62 through the lower discharge parts 77 to the outside of thechamber 7. In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the third processingliquid is removed from the substrate 9, and a drying process of thesubstrate 9 is completed (Step S20).

In Step S20, since the substrate 9 is dried while being rotated in thereduced pressure atmosphere of the internal space 70 of the chamber 7,it is possible to perform drying of the substrate 9 in a shorter time ascompared with drying under normal pressure. Further, since the substrate9 is heated by the heating part 79 concurrently with the drying of thesubstrate 9 in the reduced pressure atmosphere, it is possible toaccelerate the drying of the substrate 9.

After the drying of the substrate 9 is completed, the rotation of thesubstrate 9 is stopped (Step S21), and the pressure in the internalspace 70 of the chamber 7 is increased back to the normal pressure.Then, the substrate 9 is transferred from the substrate holding part 2to the plurality of lift pins 41, and after the chamber cover 73 goesupward from the closing position to the opening position, the substrate9 is unloaded by the not-shown arm. The same operation flow forprocessing the substrate 9 is performed in the second to sixth preferredembodiments discussed later.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, as discussed above, thesubstrate holding part 2 holding the substrate 9 and the rotor part 52attached to the substrate holding part 2 are disposed in the internalspace 70 of the chamber 7 which is a sealed space, and the stator part51 which generates a rotating force between itself and the rotor part 52is disposed around the rotor part 52 outside the chamber 7. It isthereby possible to easily form the internal space 70 having excellentsealability and easily rotate the substrate 9 in the internal space 70as compared with the apparatus provided with a servo motor or the likefor rotating the substrate outside the chamber 7. As a result, it ispossible to easily perform single-substrate processing of the substrate9 in the sealed internal space 70. It is also possible to easily providevarious constituent elements such as the lower nozzle 76 and the like atthe chamber bottom 711 as compared with the apparatus in which the aboveservo motor or the like is provided below the chamber bottom.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, since the gas supply part 61for supplying the internal space 70 with gas, the suction part 62 fordischarging gas from the internal space 70, and the pressure controlpart 112 for controlling the pressure in the internal space 70,processing of the substrate 9 can be performed in various atmospheres(for example, a low oxygen atmosphere) and under various pressures. Itis thereby possible to shorten the time required for the processing ofthe substrate 9 and perform various processings on the substrate 9.

In the substrate rotating mechanism 5, as discussed above, the rotorpart 52 rotates, being in a floating state in the internal space 70.Therefore, it is not necessary to provide any structure for supportingthe rotor part 52 in the internal space 70, and it is thereby downsizethe substrate processing apparatus 1 and simplify the configuration ofthis apparatus. Further, since no dust is generated due to frictionbetween the rotor part 52 and the supporting structure, it is possibleto improve cleanability of the internal space 70. Furthermore, since nofriction resistance caused by the supporting structure is exerted on therotor part 52, it is possible to easily rotate the rotor part 52 at highspeed. Since the rotor part 52 is disposed in an annular space (mainlythe lower annular space 717 in this preferred embodiment) formed aroundthe substrate 9, it is possible to cause a lower surface of the coverprotruding portion 731 to be close to the upper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9 and cause an upper surface of the chamber bottom 711 to beclose to the lower surface 92 of the substrate 9. It is thereforepossible to prevent the volumetric capacity of the internal space 70from becoming larger than necessary and efficiently increase or reducethe pressure in the internal space 70.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, as discussed above, since thefirst upper nozzle 75 is attached to the chamber cover 73, it ispossible to easily supply the processing liquid onto the upper surface91 of the substrate 9 disposed in the internal space 70. Further, sincethe lower nozzle 76 is attached to the chamber body 71, it is possibleto easily supply the processing liquid onto the lower surface 92 of thesubstrate 9 disposed in the internal space 70.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, as discussed above, thesubstrate 9 is transferred by the plurality of lift pins 41 protrudingdownward from the chamber cover 73 to/from the substrate holding part 2.Since it is not thereby necessary to provide a mechanism fortransferring the substrate 9 below the chamber 7, for providing anotherstructure (e.g., an ultrasonic cleaning mechanism) below the chamber 7,the degree of freedom in arrangement of the structure is improved.Further, since the chamber cover 73 includes the cover protrudingportion 731 protruding downward in an inner side in the radial directionrelative to the plurality of lift pins 41, it is possible to reduce aprocessing space on the substrate 9 while the chamber 7 is sealed toform the internal space 70. In a case where processing is performed withthe processing liquid filling between the upper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9 and the chamber cover 73, the processing can be therebyeasily performed. Further, since the lift pins 41 are accommodated inthe upper annular space 732 when the substrate 9 is processed, it ispossible to prevent the processing liquid flowing from the substrate 9from hitting against the lift pins 41, splashing back, and beingdeposited onto the substrate 9.

In the substrate holding part 2, as discussed above, by placing thesubstrate 9 on the first substrate contact part 223, the substratesupporting parts 22 each rotate from the first waiting position to thefirst holding position to support the substrate 9 from below. Then, thesubstrate retaining parts 23 each rotate from the second waitingposition to the second holding position by the centrifugal force due torotation performed by the substrate rotating mechanism 5 to retain thesubstrate 9 from above at the second substrate contact part 233. Thus,it is possible to easily hold the substrate 9 in the sealed internalspace 70 without providing any driving mechanism which is mechanicallyconnected to the substrate supporting parts 22 and the substrateretaining parts 23 and drives the substrate supporting parts 22 and thesubstrate retaining parts 23 in the substrate holding part 2. It isthereby possible to downsize the substrate processing apparatus 1 andsimplify the configuration of this apparatus as compared with the casewhere such a driving mechanism is provided. Further, it is possible toimprove the sealability of the internal space 70 of the chamber 7 ascompared with the case where the driving mechanism is provided outsidethe chamber and connected to the substrate holding part.

In the substrate holding part 2, one rotation axis 25 serves both as therotation axis of the substrate supporting part 22 and as that of thesubstrate retaining part 23 in each of the chuck parts 21. It is therebypossible to simplify the configuration of the substrate holding part 2.In each of the chuck parts 21, two substrate retaining parts 23 areprovided on both sides of the substrate supporting part 22 in thecircumferential direction, adjacently thereto. It is thereby possible toretain the substrate 9 from above with a strong force in each of thechuck parts 21 and solidly hold the substrate 9 even when thecentrifugal force of rotation exerted on the substrate retaining parts23 is small, in other words, even when the number of rotation of therotor part 52 is low.

In the substrate supporting part 22, the first contact surface 225 ofthe first substrate contact part 223 is a sloped surface which goesdownward as it goes inward in the radial direction while the supportingbody 221 is positioned at the first holding position. The substrate 9placed on the first contact surface 225 slides on the first contactsurface 225 by its own weight, thereby moving to a predeterminedposition. It is thereby possible to easily position the substrate 9 bothin the vertical direction and in the horizontal direction. Further,since the first contact surface 225 of the first substrate contact part223, which is a sloped surface, is in contact with the outer edge of thesubstrate 9, it is possible to reduce the contact area between the firstsubstrate contact part 223 and the substrate 9 and decrease thepossibility of contamination of the substrate 9 due to the contact withthe substrate holding part 2.

In the substrate retaining part 23, the second contact surface 235 ofthe second substrate contact part 233 is a sloped surface which goesupward as it goes inward in the radial direction while the retainingbody 231 is positioned at the second holding position. Since the secondcontact surface 235 of the second substrate contact part 233, which is asloped surface, is in contact with the outer edge of the substrate 9, itis possible to suppress the contact of the second substrate contact part233 with the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9. As a result, it ispossible to decrease the possibility of contamination of the uppersurface 91 of the substrate 9 due to the contact with the substrateholding part 2.

In the substrate supporting part 22, provided is the first stopper 222for limiting the movement of first anchor part 224 at the time when thesubstrate 9 is placed on the first substrate contact part 223. It isthereby possible to easily position the substrate 9 in the verticaldirection. Further, by changing the position of the first stopper 222 inthe vertical direction, it is possible to easily change the position ofthe substrate 9 held by the substrate supporting parts 22 in thevertical direction. In the substrate retaining part 23, the retainingbody 231 has such a shape as to prevent the second anchor part 234 andthe like from coming into contact with the surrounding structure such asthe chamber bottom 711 and the like at the time when the centrifugalforce exerted on the second anchor part 234 is released. It is therebypossible to prevent the substrate retaining part 23 from interferingwith the surrounding structure while the rotation of the substrateholding part 2 and the rotor part 52 is stopped. Further, in order toprevent any contact and interference between the second anchor part 234and the chamber bottom 711 and the like, a stopper (not shown) may beprovided to limit the range of rotation (range of movement) of thesecond anchor part 234 at the time when the centrifugal force exerted onthe second anchor part 234 is released.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the rotor part 52 includes theliquid receiving surface 523 for receiving the processing liquid whichspatters from the outer peripheral edge of the substrate 9 and guidingthe processing liquid downward. It is thereby possible to prevent theprocessing liquid spattering from the substrate 9 from splashing backand being deposited onto the substrate 9. Further, it is possible toquickly guide the processing liquid spattering from the substrate 9 tothe lower portion of the internal space 70 and quickly discharge theprocessing liquid to the outside of the chamber 7. In the substrateprocessing apparatus 1, since the liquid receiving surface 523 of therotor part 52 extends upward to be higher than the upper surface 91 ofthe substrate 9 and goes outward in the radial direction as it goesdownward, it is possible to further prevent the processing liquidspattering from the substrate 9 from splashing back. It is also possibleto quickly discharge the processing liquid spattering from the substrate9 to the outside of the chamber 7.

As discussed above, the rotor part 52 is provided with the annularprotruding portion 524 protruding inward in the radial direction on theupper side of the liquid receiving surface 523. It is thereby possibleto prevent the processing liquid from spattering up to above the liquidreceiving surface 523. As a result, it is possible to prevent theprocessing liquid spattering from the substrate 9 from being depositedonto the inner peripheral surface 713 of the chamber sidewall 712 andthe lower surface of the chamber cover 73. It is also possible toprevent the processing liquid from splashing back from the liquidreceiving surface 523 up to above the substrate 9 and being depositedonto the substrate 9.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, as shown in FIG. 14, theprocessing liquid may be supplied from a scan nozzle 35 inserted betweenthe chamber cover 73 and the chamber body 71 onto the upper surface 91of the substrate 9 while the chamber cover 73 is positioned above thechamber body 71, being away therefrom. The scan nozzle 35 is connectedto a not-shown processing liquid supply part and continuously ejects aprocessing liquid while repeating a reciprocating motion in thehorizontal direction above the substrate 9 being rotated. Thus, in thesubstrate processing apparatus 1, while the chamber 7 is open, thesubstrate processing can be performed by using the scan nozzle 35. Alsoin this case, the processing liquid spattering from the substrate 9 isreceived and guided downward by the liquid receiving surface 523 of therotor part 52. It is thereby possible to prevent the processing liquidspattering from the substrate 9 from splashing back and being depositedonto the substrate 9. It is also possible to quickly discharge theprocessing liquid spattering from the substrate 9 to the outside of thechamber 7. Further, the position of the scan nozzle 35 in the verticaldirection may be changed as appropriate depending on the kinds or thelike of the substrate processing.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 of FIG. 1, after the processings(the above-discussed processes of Steps S11 to S21 and the processingusing the scan nozzle 35) for a predetermined number of substrates 9 arefinished, the cleaning of the inside of the chamber 7 is performed. FIG.15 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of the cleaning of theinside of the chamber 7. In the substrate processing apparatus 1, first,as shown in FIG. 16, while the substrate holding part 2 does not holdthe substrate 9, the chamber cover 73 closes the upper opening of thechamber body 71, to thereby form the internal space 70. FIG. 16 shows aside view of the substrate holding part 2 and the like (the same appliesto FIG. 17).

Subsequently, the liquid supply control part 111 of the control part 11(see FIG. 2) controls the second processing liquid supply part 32 tosupply the second processing liquid 320 which is deionized water (DIW)into the internal space 70 of the chamber 7. In the substrate processingapparatus 1, since the suction part 62 (see FIG. 1) is stopped, thesecond processing liquid 320 supplied from the second processing liquidsupply part 32 is pooled in the internal space 70 of the chamber 7 (StepS31).

In the internal space 70, when the whole of the rotor part 52 and thesubstrate holding part 2 is immersed into the second processing liquid320, the supply of the second processing liquid 320 from the secondprocessing liquid supply part 32 is stopped. At that time, there is gasin the upper annular space 732 above the substrate holding part 2 andthe rotor part 52. Then, while the whole of the rotor part 52 and thesubstrate holding part 2 is immersed into the second processing liquid320, the rotation control part 113 (see FIG. 2) controls the substraterotating mechanism 5 to rotate the rotor part 52 and the substrateholding part 2. The second processing liquid 320 in the internal space70 is thereby agitated, to perform cleaning of the inside of the chamber7 (Step S32).

Specifically, with the second processing liquid 320 agitated by therotor part 52 and the substrate holding part 2, other processing liquidsand extraneous matters deposited on an inner surface of the chamber 7are removed. The inner peripheral surface 713 of the chamber sidewall712, the lower surface of the chamber cover 73, and the outer peripheralsurface 733 of the cover protruding portion 731 in the upper annularspace 732 are cleaned with the agitated second processing liquid 320.The rotation of the substrate holding part 2 may be started concurrentlywith Step S31 or before Step S31.

In the Step S32, the rotor part 52 and the substrate holding part 2 mayrotate only one direction in the circumferential direction, butpreferably, after rotating one direction in the circumferentialdirection, the rotor part 52 and the substrate holding part 2 may rotatethe other direction. For example, the rotor part 52 and the substrateholding part 2 rotate counterclockwise for a predetermined time period,and then rotate clockwise for another predetermined time period.

After the cleaning of the inside of the chamber 7 is finished, thesecond processing liquid 320 in the internal space 70 is dischargedtogether with extraneous matters or the like removed from the innersurface of the chamber 7 to the outside of the chamber 7 by the suctionpart 62 (Step S33). Then, the gas supply part 61 and the suction part 62are controlled, to bring the internal space 70 into a predeterminedreduced pressure atmosphere (Step S34). The pressure in the internalspace 70 is preferably lower than the normal pressure and not lower thanabout 15 kPa. Further, the heating part 79 is controlled, to heat theinner surface of the chamber 7 and the constituent elements in thechamber 7.

After that, while the internal space 70 is brought into a predeterminedreduced pressure atmosphere, the substrate rotating mechanism 5 iscontrolled to increase the number of rotation of the rotor part 52, andthe rotor part 52 and the substrate holding part 2 are thereby rotatedat high speed. The second processing liquid 320 deposited on the rotorpart 52 and the substrate holding part 2 thereby spatters into thesurroundings, being guided to the lower portion of the internal space70, and is discharged to the outside of the chamber 7 by the suctionpart 62. In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the second processingliquid is removed from the inner surface of the chamber 7 and from theconstituent elements in the chamber 7, and the drying process isfinished (Step S35).

After the drying process is finished, the rotation of the rotor part 52and the substrate holding part 2 is stopped, the pressure in theinternal space 70 of the chamber 7 is increased back to the normalpressure, and the cleaning of the inside of the chamber 7 is finished.Also in the second to sixth preferred embodiments, the same operationflow as that of cleaning the inside of the chamber 7 shown in Steps S31to S35 is performed.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, as discussed above, thesubstrate holding part 2 not holding the substrate 9 is rotated in thesecond processing liquid 320 pooled in the internal space 70 of thechamber 7, and the inside of the chamber 7 can be thereby easilycleaned. Further, as discussed above, since the cleaning of the insideof the chamber 7 is performed while the chamber 7 is sealed, it ispossible to prevent the second processing liquid 320 and the like fromspattering to the outside of the chamber 7 in the cleaning.

In the Step S32, as discussed above, by rotating the rotor part 52 andthe substrate holding part 2 one direction in the circumferentialdirection and then the other direction, it is possible to change thedirection and the rate of the flow of the second processing liquid 320in the chamber 7. As a result, it is possible to remove even extraneousmatters and the like which are hard to remove by a uniform flow andtherefore improve the efficiency in the cleaning of the inside of thechamber 7.

In the Step S35, while the internal space 70 of the chamber 7 is broughtinto the reduced pressure atmosphere, the rotor part 52 and thesubstrate holding part 2 are rotated, to thereby perform the dryingprocess. It is thereby possible to perform the drying process in ashorter time as compared with under normal pressure. Further, since theheating by the heating part 79 is performed concurrently with the dryingof the inside of the chamber 7 under reduced pressure, it is possible toaccelerate the drying of the inside of the chamber 7. If the drying ofthe inside of the chamber 7 can be completed in a relatively short time,the drying process may be performed under normal pressure.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the rotor part 52 to which thesubstrate holding part 2 is attached rotates, being in a floating statein the internal space 70, by magnetic force exerted between itself andthe stator part 51. Therefore, as discussed above, it is possible toprevent dust and the like from being generated due to the frictionbetween the rotor part 52 and the supporting structure and also easilyrotate the rotor part 52 at high speed. As a result, it is possible toefficiently clean the inside of the chamber 7.

In the Step S32, the rotation of the rotor part 52 and the substrateholding part 2 does not necessarily have to be performed while the wholeof the rotor part 52 and the substrate holding part 2 is immersed intothe second processing liquid 320. In the substrate processing apparatus1, the inside of the chamber 7 is cleaned by the rotation of thesubstrate holding part 2 while at least part of the substrate holdingpart 2 is immersed in the second processing liquid 320. Also in thiscase, like in the above case, it is possible to easily clean the insideof the chamber 7.

In the Step S32, as shown in FIG. 17, the inside of the chamber 7 may becleaned by rotating the rotor part 52 and the substrate holding part 2while the second processing liquid 320 fills the internal space 70. Inthis case, in Step S31, for example, while the chamber cover 73 ispositioned above the chamber body 71, being slightly away therefrom, thesecond processing liquid 320 is supplied up to very near the upperopening of the chamber body 71. Then, by stopping the supply of thesecond processing liquid 320 and closing the upper opening of thechamber body 71 by the chamber cover 73, the internal space 70 is filledwith the second processing liquid 320. By performing the cleaningprocess while the internal space 70 is filled with the second processingliquid 320, it is possible to easily clean the inside of the chamber 7with the entire inner surface of the chamber 7 reliably brought intocontact with the second processing liquid 320.

FIG. 18 is a cross section showing part of a substrate processingapparatus 1 a which is enlarged in accordance with the second preferredembodiment of the present invention. The substrate processing apparatus1 a has the same constitution as the substrate processing apparatus 1shown in FIG. 1 except that the rotor part 52 includes a protective wall525. In the following description, constituent elements identical to orcorresponding to those of the substrate processing apparatus 1 shown inFIG. 1 are represented by the same reference signs.

The protective wall 525 is a thin tubular member which is disposedbetween the substrate 9 and the plurality of chuck parts 21 of thesubstrate holding part 2, and the permanent magnet 521. An upper end 526of the protective wall 525 is positioned near the chamber cover 73 andopposed to the lower surface of the chamber cover 73 with a very narrowgap interposed therebetween. A lower end 527 of the protective wall 525is positioned near the chamber bottom 711 and opposed to the uppersurface of the chamber bottom 711 with a very narrow gap interposedtherebetween. The lower end 527 of the protective wall 525 may bepositioned near the chamber sidewall 712 and opposed to the innerperipheral surface 713 of the chamber sidewall 712 with a very narrowgap interposed therebetween. In other words, the lower end 527 of theprotective wall 525 is opposed to the inner surface of the chamber body71 with a very narrow gap interposed therebetween. The permanent magnet521 of the rotor part 52 is isolated from the substrate 9 by theprotective wall 525.

An inner peripheral surface of the protective wall 525 at its centerportion in the vertical direction serves as the tubular liquid receivingsurface 523 which is opposed to the outer peripheral edge of thesubstrate 9 in the radial direction and receives the processing liquidspattering from the outer peripheral edge of the substrate 9. In otherwords, the liquid receiving surface 523 is provided between the upperend 526 and the lower end 527 of the protective wall 525. As discussedabove, the liquid receiving surface 523 extends upward to be higher thanthe upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 and also downward to be lowerthan the lower surface 92 of the substrate 9 in the vertical direction.Further, the liquid receiving surface 523 is a sloped surface which goesoutward in the radial direction as it goes downward, thereby guiding theprocessing liquid received from the substrate 9 downward toward thelower discharge parts 77.

An upper portion 528 of the inner peripheral surface of the protectivewall 525, which is positioned above the liquid receiving surface 523, isa cylindrical surface extending in substantially parallel to thevertical direction. A lower portion 529 of the inner peripheral surfaceof the protective wall 525, which is positioned lower than the permanentmagnet 521, is also a cylindrical surface extending in substantiallyparallel to the vertical direction, being continuous with a lower end ofthe liquid receiving surface 523 to guide the processing liquid receivedfrom the substrate 9 by the liquid receiving surface 523 downward.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 a, as discussed above, since thepermanent magnet 521 is isolated from the substrate 9 by the protectivewall 525, even if the substrate 9 is broken, it is possible to preventthe broken pieces of the substrate 9 from hitting against a coating film(i.e., a film formed by fluorocarbon resin coating) on a surface of thepermanent magnet 521 and the permanent magnet 521. As a result, it ispossible to prevent the permanent magnet 521 and the above-describedcoating film from being damaged by the broken pieces of the substrate 9.

FIG. 19 is a cross section showing part of a substrate processingapparatus 1 b which is enlarged in accordance with the third preferredembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 19 is a cross section at aposition slightly shifted in the circumferential direction from theposition where the chuck part 21 is provided. The chuck part 21 is alsorepresented by two-dot chain line. In the substrate processing apparatus1 b, instead of the stator part 51 and the rotor part 52 shown in FIG.1, a stator part 51 a and a rotor part 52 a which are different in shapefrom the stator part 51 and the rotor part 52, respectively. Further,the shape of the chamber sidewall 712 is different from that shown inFIG. 1. Except the above constituent elements, the substrate processingapparatus 1 b has almost the same constitution as that of the substrateprocessing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, and in the followingdescription, constituent elements identical to or corresponding to thoseof the substrate processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 are representedby the same reference signs.

As shown in FIG. 19, the rotor part 52 a has an annular shape andincludes a lower surface 531, an inner peripheral surface 532, and anupper surface 533. The lower surface 531 is a substantially ring-shapedsurface extending in the horizontal direction. The inner peripheralsurface 532 is a substantially cylindrical surface extending upward froman inner peripheral edge of the lower surface 531 in substantiallyparallel to the central axis J1 (see FIG. 1). The upper surface 533extends outward and downward in the radial direction from an upper endedge of the inner peripheral surface 532, leading to an outer peripheraledge of the lower surface 531. The upper surface 533 is a smooth slopedsurface which gradually goes downward as it goes outward in the radialdirection. An inner peripheral edge of the upper surface 533, i.e., theupper end edge of the inner peripheral surface 532 is in contact withthe outer peripheral edge of the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9except portions at which the chuck parts 21 are provided. In theportions at which the chuck parts 21 are provided, recessed portions areformed in an inner peripheral portion of the rotor part 52 a and thechuck parts 21 are accommodated in the recessed portions.

The chamber sidewall 712 includes an annular flow channel forming part715 which covers above the upper surface 533, being away from the uppersurface 533 of the rotor part 52 a with a predetermined gap (an annularflow channel 534 described later) interposed therebetween. The flowchannel forming part 715 has a lower surface 716 opposed to the uppersurface 533 of the rotor part 52 a, and the lower surface 716 isdisposed along substantially the entire upper surface 533 of the rotorpart 52 a. The lower surface 716 of the flow channel forming part 715 isalso a smooth sloped surface which gradually goes downward as it goesoutward in the radial direction, like the upper surface 533 of the rotorpart 52 a. The annular flow channel 534 is formed between the lowersurface 716 of the flow channel forming part 715 and the upper surface533 of the rotor part 52 a. A slit-like annular opening 535 which is anupper opening of the flow channel 534 is formed between the innerperipheral edge of the upper surface 533 of the rotor part 52 a and aninner peripheral edge of the lower surface 716 of the flow channelforming part 715. The stator part 51 a is provided across from the outerside of the rotor part 52 a in the radial direction to the upper side ofthe flow channel forming part 715, to cover above the rotor part 52 a.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 a, as discussed above, the innerperipheral edge of the upper surface 533 of the rotor part 52 a is incontact with the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9, and the upper surface 533 of the rotor part 52 a iscontinuous with the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9. Therefore, theprocessing liquid which is moved outward in the radial direction on theupper surface 91 of the substrate 9 by the rotation of the substrate 9does not remain at the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface 91 ofthe substrate 9 by the surface tension or the like and is smoothlyguided to the flow channel 534 through the annular opening 535, andfurther guided to the lower discharge parts 77 provided in the lowerportion of the internal space 70 by the flow channel 534.

Thus, since the processing liquid moving outward in the radial directionfrom the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface 91 of the substrate9 flows in the flow channel 534 and is guided to the lower dischargeparts 77, it is possible to prevent the processing liquid removed fromthe upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 from splashing back and beingdeposited on the substrate 9. It is also possible to quickly dischargethe processing liquid removed from the substrate 9 to the outside of thechamber 7. Further, since the lower surface 716 of the flow channelforming part 715 is a smooth sloped surface which gradually goesdownward as it goes outward in the radial direction, it is possible tofurther prevent the processing liquid from splashing back and beingdeposited on the substrate 9. Furthermore, in the third preferredembodiment, it is possible to reduce the volumetric capacity of aportion which corresponds to the upper annular space 732 in the firstpreferred embodiment. As a result, it is possible to reduce thevolumetric capacity of the internal space 70 and efficiently increase orreduce the pressure in the internal space 70.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 b, the inner peripheral edge ofthe upper surface 533 of the rotor part 52 a does not necessarily haveto come into contact with the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface91 of the substrate 9. Only if the processing liquid on the uppersurface 91 of the substrate 9 being rotated does not remain at the outerperipheral edge of the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 by thesurface tension or the like and is smoothly guided to the flow channel534, the inner peripheral edge of the upper surface 533 of the rotorpart 52 a may be disposed close to the outer peripheral edge of theupper surface 91 of the substrate 9. For example, the inner peripheraledge of the upper surface 533 of the rotor part 52 a may be disposedslightly on an outer side in the radial direction relative to the outerperipheral edge of the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9, being awaytherefrom, or slightly on a lower side, being away therefrom.

Further, the flow channel forming part 715 do not necessarily have to beprovided in the chamber sidewall 721 but may be provided in the chambercover 73. Alternatively, there may be another configuration where aportion of the flow channel forming part 715 on an inner side in theradial direction is provided in the chamber cover 73 and a portionthereof on an outer side in the radial direction is provided in thechamber sidewall 712. In other words, the flow channel forming part 715has only to be provided in the chamber 7.

FIG. 20 is a cross section showing a substrate processing apparatus 1 cin accordance with the fourth preferred embodiment of the presentinvention. In FIG. 20, instead of the chuck part 21 and the rotor part52 shown in FIG. 1, a chuck part 21 a and a rotor part 52 b which aredifferent in structure from the chuck part 21 and the rotor part 52,respectively. Further, a liquid collecting part 8 is provided below thestator part 51, and the shape of the chamber 7 is different from thatshown in FIG. 1. The liquid collecting part 8 includes a first liquidreceiving part 81, a second liquid receiving part 82, a third liquidreceiving part 83, and the like each of which can temporarily pool theprocessing liquid, as discussed later. Except the above constituentelements, the substrate processing apparatus 1 b has almost the sameconstitution as that of the substrate processing apparatus 1 shown inFIG. 1, and in the following description, constituent elements identicalto or corresponding to those of the substrate processing apparatus 1shown in FIG. 1 are represented by the same reference signs. In FIG. 20,the first processing liquid supply part 31, the second processing liquidsupply part 32, the third processing liquid supply part 33, the gassupply part 61, the cover moving mechanism 74, and the like shown inFIG. 1 are omitted, and a side view of the substrate holding part 2 andthe like is shown (the same applies to FIGS. 21 and 22).

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 c, a plurality of chuck parts 21a of the substrate holding part 2 are attached to the lower side of therotor part 52 b having a substantially cylindrical shape. The pluralityof chuck parts 21 a each sandwich the outer edge of the substrate 9 fromabove and below. The substrate 9 sandwiched by the plurality of chuckparts 21 a is disposed below the rotor part 52 b, and the upper surface91 of the substrate 9 is positioned lower than a lower end of the rotorpart 52 b. Further, the rotor part 52 b is not provided with theabove-discussed liquid receiving surface 523 (see FIG. 9).

While the upper opening of the chamber body 71 is closed by the chambercover 73 to form the internal space 70, the substantially cylindricalcover protruding portion 731 of the chamber cover 73 is positioned on aninner side in the radial direction relative to a substantiallycylindrical inner peripheral surface 522 of the rotor part 52 b. Thecover protruding portion 731 is positioned above the substrate holdingpart 2 and the substrate 9, and an outer peripheral surface 733 of thecover protruding portion 731 is opposed to the inner peripheral surface522 of the rotor part 52 b in the radial direction, being close thereto.

The chamber bottom 711 includes a substantially disk-like center portion711 a opposed to the lower surface 92 of the substrate 9 in the verticaldirection and a step portion 711 b positioned around the center portion711 a, being lower than the center portion 711 a. Around the lowernozzle 76 provided at the center portion 711 a, provided is a lowernozzle 78 a having an annular cross section which is connected to thegas supply part 61 (see FIG. 1). The step portion 711 b is positionedbelow the stator part 51 of the substrate rotating mechanism 5. Thechamber sidewall 712 extends upward from an outer peripheral edge of thestep portion 711 b of the chamber bottom 711. The internal space 70 ofthe chamber 7 thereby extends up to a portion below the stator part 51.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 c, an annular first liquidreceiving part 81 for receiving the processing liquid spattering fromthe substrate 9 is formed by the step portion 711 b and the chambersidewall 712 of the chamber bottom 711. The first liquid receiving part81 is positioned below the stator part 51 in the internal space 70 andextends downward from a portion surrounding the substrate 9. The firstliquid receiving part 81 has an annular opening (hereinafter, referredto as a “liquid receiving opening 80”) positioned around the substrate9. The processing liquid spattering from the substrate 9 is moved to theinside of the first liquid receiving part 81 through the liquidreceiving opening 80, received by the first liquid receiving part 81,and temporarily pooled therein.

A first liquid receiving and discharging part 811 is provided at abottom portion of the first liquid receiving part 81, and a firstcollecting part 812 is connected to the first liquid receiving part 81through the first liquid receiving and discharging part 811. Theprocessing liquid received by the first liquid receiving part 81 issucked by the first collecting part 812 to be discharged to the outsideof the chamber 7 and collected. Further, the processing liquid which issupplied onto the lower surface 92 of the substrate 9 and the like anddropped onto the center portion 711 a of the chamber bottom 711 issucked by the suction part 62 through the lower discharge parts 77provided at the center portion 711 a.

Inside the first liquid receiving part 81, provided is a second liquidreceiving part 82 which is another liquid receiving part for receivingthe processing liquid spattering from the substrate 9. Further, insidethe second liquid receiving part 82, provided is a third liquidreceiving part 83 which is still another liquid receiving part forreceiving the processing liquid spattering from the substrate 9. Thesecond liquid receiving part 82 and the third liquid receiving part 83are each an annular member positioned below the stator part 51 in theinternal space 70. A upper part of the second liquid receiving part 82has a sloped surface (conical surface) for receiving the processingliquid spattering from the substrate 9 and guiding the processing liquiddownward, and a upper part of the third liquid receiving part 83 hasalso a sloped surface (conical surface) for receiving the processingliquid spattering from the substrate 9 and guiding the processing liquiddownward. The respective sloped surfaces of the second liquid receivingpart 82 and the third liquid receiving part 83 are so disposed as tooverlap each other in the vertical direction. A second liquid receivingand discharging part 821 is provided at a bottom portion of the secondliquid receiving part 82, and a second collecting part 822 is connectedto the second liquid receiving part 82 through the second liquidreceiving and discharging part 821. A third liquid receiving anddischarging part 831 is provided at a bottom portion of the third liquidreceiving part 83, and a third collecting part 832 is connected to thethird liquid receiving part 83 through the third liquid receiving anddischarging part 831. Further, a liquid receiving part up-and-downmoving mechanism 823 is connected to the second liquid receiving part82, and another liquid receiving part up-and-down moving mechanism 833is connected to the third liquid receiving part 83. By the liquidreceiving part up-and-down moving mechanisms 823 and 833, the secondliquid receiving part 82 and the third liquid receiving part 83 aremoved in the vertical direction, respectively, so that respective upperparts thereof may not come into contact with each other.

In the liquid collecting part 8, by driving the liquid receiving partup-and-down moving mechanism 823 from a state shown in FIG. 20(hereinafter, referred to as a “first liquid receiving state”), thesecond liquid receiving part 82 is moved up to the position shown inFIG. 21 without moving the third liquid receiving part 83. In thefollowing discussion, a state of the liquid collecting part 8 shown inFIG. 21 is referred to as a “second liquid receiving state”. In FIG. 21,the suction part 62 is not shown (the same applies to FIG. 22). In thesecond liquid receiving state, the second liquid receiving part 82extends downward from a portion surrounding the substrate 9 inside thefirst liquid receiving part 81, and the processing liquid spatteringfrom the substrate 9 is moved to the inside of the second liquidreceiving part 82 through the liquid receiving opening 80, received bythe second liquid receiving part 82, and temporarily pooled therein. Theprocessing liquid received by the second liquid receiving part 82 issucked by the second collecting part 822 to be discharged to the outsideof the chamber 7 and collected.

Further, in the liquid collecting part 8, by the driving liquidreceiving part up-and-down moving mechanism 833 from the second liquidreceiving state shown in FIG. 21, the third liquid receiving part 83 ismoved up to the position shown in FIG. 22. In the following discussion,a state of the liquid collecting part 8 shown in FIG. 22 is referred toas a “third liquid receiving state”). In the third liquid receivingstate, the third liquid receiving part 83 extends downward from aportion surrounding the substrate 9 inside the second liquid receivingpart 82, and the processing liquid spattering from the substrate 9 ismoved to the inside of the third liquid receiving part 83 through theliquid receiving opening 80, received by the third liquid receiving part83, and temporarily pooled therein. The processing liquid received bythe third liquid receiving part 83 is sucked by the third collectingpart 832 to be discharged to the outside of the chamber 7 and collected.

Thus, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 c, since the second liquidreceiving part 82 and the third liquid receiving part 83 are moved inthe vertical direction by the liquid receiving part up-and-down movingmechanisms 823 and 833, respectively, the receipt of the processingliquid by the first liquid receiving part 81, that of the processingliquid by the second liquid receiving part 82, and that of theprocessing liquid by the third liquid receiving part 83 are selectivelyswitched. Then, the respective processing liquids received by the firstliquid receiving part 81, the second liquid receiving part 82, and thethird liquid receiving part 83 are discharged to the outside of thechamber 7 by the first collecting part 812, the second collecting part822, and the third collecting part 832 each of which serves as aprocessing liquid discharge part, respectively.

In the substrate processings shown in the above-discussed Steps S11 toS21, for example, between the etching process in Step S15 and the rinseprocess in Step S16, the number of rotation of the substrate 9 isincreased with the liquid collecting part 8 brought into the secondliquid receiving state shown in FIG. 21. The first processing liquidwhich is an etching solution thereby spatters from the substrate 9, andthe first processing liquid is received by the second liquid receivingpart 82 and collected by the second collecting part 822. The firstprocessing liquid collected by the second collecting part 822 isrecycled for the substrate processings or the like in the substrateprocessing apparatus 1 c after removing impurities and performing thelike processes.

Subsequently, after the liquid receiving part up-and-down movingmechanism 833 is driven to bring the liquid collecting part 8 into thethird liquid receiving state shown in FIG. 22, the rinse process in StepS16 is performed. The second processing liquid which is deionized waterthereby spatters together with the first processing liquid remaining onthe substrate 9 from the substrate 9, and the processing liquids arereceived by the third liquid receiving part 83 and collected by thethird collecting part 832. Further, the second processing liquid whichspatters from on the substrate 9 in Steps S17 and S18 is also receivedby the third liquid receiving part 83 and collected by the thirdcollecting part 832. The processing liquid collected by the thirdcollecting part 832 is discarded.

Next, the liquid receiving part up-and-down moving mechanisms 823 and833 are driven to bring the liquid collecting part 8 into the firstliquid receiving state, the drying process in Step S20 is performed. Thethird processing liquid which is isopropyl alcohol (IPA) therebyspatters from the substrate 9, and the third processing liquid isreceived by the first liquid receiving part 81 and collected by thefirst collecting part 812. The third processing liquid collected by thefirst collecting part 812 is recycled for the substrate processings orthe like in the substrate processing apparatus 1 c after removingimpurities and performing the like processes.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 c, as discussed above, the uppersurface 91 of the substrate 9 held by the substrate holding part 2 ispositioned on the lower side relative to the lower end of the rotor part52 b. It is thereby possible to prevent the processing liquid spatteringfrom the substrate 9 from hitting against the rotor part 52 b. As aresult, it is possible to easily discharge the processing liquid to theoutside of the chamber 7 while preventing the processing liquid fromsplashing from the rotor part 52 b back to the substrate 9.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 c, as discussed above, the firstliquid receiving part 81 is provided to be positioned below the statorpart 51 in the internal space 70 of the chamber 7, and the processingliquid received by the first liquid receiving part 81 and temporarilypooled therein is discharged by the first collecting part 812 to theoutside of the chamber 7. It is thereby possible to temporarily pool theprocessing liquid spattering from the substrate 9 at a position awayfrom the substrate 9 and easily discharge the processing liquid to theoutside of the chamber 7 while preventing the processing liquid frombeing deposited again on the substrate 9 even when processing using alarge amount of processing liquid is performed while the chamber 7 issealed.

Further, in the liquid collecting part 8, since the second liquidreceiving part 82 is provided inside the first liquid receiving part 81and the second liquid receiving part 82 is moved in the verticaldirection, the receipt of the processing liquid by the first liquidreceiving part 81 and that of the processing liquid by the second liquidreceiving part 82 are selectively switched. It is thereby possible tocollect a plurality of kinds of processing liquids individually andincrease the collection efficiency of the processing liquid. Further,since the third liquid receiving part 83 is provided inside the secondliquid receiving part 82 and the third liquid receiving part 83 ismovable in the vertical direction independently of the second liquidreceiving part 82, the receipt of the processing liquid by the firstliquid receiving part 81, that of the processing liquid by the secondliquid receiving part 82, and that of the processing liquid by the thirdliquid receiving part 83 are selectively switched. As a result, it isthereby possible to further increase the collection efficiency of theprocessing liquid. In the liquid collecting part 8, the first liquidreceiving part 81, the second liquid receiving part 82, and the thirdliquid receiving part 83 are so disposed as to overlap one another (inother words, overlap in a plan view) in the vertical direction, and thewhole of the liquid collecting part 8 is disposed below the stator part51. Thus, since the space below the stator part 51 is efficiently used,it is possible to downsize the substrate processing apparatus 1 c.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 c, the cover protruding portion731 of the chamber cover 73 is positioned on the inner side in theradial direction relative to the inner peripheral surface 522 of therotor part 52 b, and the outer peripheral surface 733 of the coverprotruding portion 731 is opposed to the inner peripheral surface 522 ofthe rotor part 52 b in the radial direction. With this structure, evenif the substrate 9 is broken, it is possible to prevent the brokenpieces of the substrate 9 from being scattered in a wide range. Further,the cover protruding portion 731 may have a substantially cylindricalshape about the central axis J1.

FIG. 23 is a cross section showing a substrate processing apparatus 1 din accordance with the fifth preferred embodiment of the presentinvention. In the substrate processing apparatus 1 d, instead of thelower discharge parts 77 and the suction part 62 shown in FIG. 1, aconnecting pipe 777, a buffer tank 60, a gas discharge part 64, and aprocessing liquid discharge part 63 are provided. Further, in thechamber 7, provided is a pressure gauge 69 for measuring the pressure ofthe internal space 70. Except the above constituent elements, thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 d has almost the same constitution asthat of the substrate processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, and in thefollowing description, constituent elements identical to orcorresponding to those of the substrate processing apparatus 1 shown inFIG. 1 are represented by the same reference signs.

The connecting pipe 777 is provided in an outer peripheral portion ofthe chamber bottom 711, penetrating the chamber bottom 711. Theconnecting pipe 777 has a relatively large inner diameter, and a lowerend of the connecting pipe 777 is connected to the buffer tank 60disposed below the chamber 7. To the buffer tank 60, connected are thegas discharge part 64 and the processing liquid discharge part 63. Thegas discharge part 64 is controlled by the pressure control part 112shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 24 is a view showing a detailed configuration relating to thecontrol of the pressure in the internal space 70 of the chamber 7, whichis performed by the pressure control part 112. In FIG. 24, forconvenience of illustration, the chamber 7 is illustrated to be smallerand as a simplified rectangle. Further, FIG. 24 shows a cross section ofthe chamber 7 and the buffer tank 60. The same applies to FIG. 26.

As shown in FIG. 24, the gas supply part 61 includes a first gas supplypart 611 and a second gas supply part 612. The first gas supply part 611and the second gas supply part 612 are connected to the chamber 7 inparallel through the second upper nozzle 78. The first gas supply part611 and the second gas supply part 612 are also connected to a gassupply source 610.

The first gas supply part 611 includes an air pressure regulator (APR)614, a massflow controller (MFC) 615, and a valve 616. In the first gassupply part 611, the air pressure regulator 614, the massflow controller615, and the valve 616 are provided in this order from the gas supplysource 610 toward the chamber 7. The second gas supply part 612 includesa piezoelectric valve (PV) 617, a flowmeter 618, and a valve 619. In thesecond gas supply part 612, the piezoelectric valve 617, the flowmeter618, and the valve 619 are provided in this order from the gas supplysource 610 toward the chamber 7. In this preferred embodiment, as eachof the valves 616 and 619, a mechanical valve is used, but other typesof valves may be used (the same applies to other valves describedlater).

In the gas supply part 61, the first gas supply part 611 and the secondgas supply part 612 are selectively used to supply gas into the internalspace 70 of the chamber 7. Specifically, by opening the valve 616 andclosing the valve 619, the gas from the gas supply source 610 issupplied into the internal space 70 of the chamber 7 through the firstgas supply part 611 and the second upper nozzle 78. Alternatively, byclosing the valve 616 and opening the valve 619, the gas from the gassupply source 610 is supplied into the internal space 70 of the chamber7 through the second gas supply part 612 and the second upper nozzle 78.In this preferred embodiment, nitrogen gas (N₂) is supplied into thechamber 7 by the gas supply part 61.

The buffer tank 60 positioned below the chamber 7 is connected to theinternal space 70 of the chamber 7 through the connecting pipe 777. Theconnecting pipe 777 is provided with a mechanical connection valve 771thereon. The processing liquid supplied into the internal space 70 ofthe chamber 7 is guided to the buffer tank 60 through the connectingpipe 777.

In a buffer space 600 which is a space inside the buffer tank 60,provided is a barrier rib 601 extending upward from an inner bottomsurface of the buffer tank 60 (a bottom side of the buffer space 600).The barrier rib 601 is away from an inner upper surface of the buffertank 60, and a lower portion of the buffer space 600 is divided into twospaces 602 and 603 by the barrier rib 601. The connecting pipe 777 isconnected to an upper portion of the buffer tank 60 over the space 602.The processing liquid guided to the buffer tank 60 from the internalspace 70 of the chamber 7 through the connecting pipe 777 is temporarilypooled in the space 602 and does not flow out of the space 602 in thebuffer space 600.

In the following discussion, the spaces 602 and 603 are referred to as a“liquid pooling space 602” and a “separating space 603”, respectively,and a space over the liquid pooling space 602 and the separating space603 is referred to as an “upper space 604”. The connecting pipe 777 isconnected to the upper space 604 in which no processing liquid ispooled. In the substrate processing apparatus 1 d, since the connectingpipe 777 has a relatively large inner diameter, the connecting pipe 777is not filled with the processing liquid when the processing liquidflows in the connecting pipe 777. Therefore, the gas in the buffer tank60 (specifically, the gas in the upper space 604 and the separatingspace 603) is always continuous with the gas in the internal space 70 ofthe chamber 7 with the gas in the connecting pipe 777 interposedtherebetween.

The processing liquid discharge part 63 is connected to the bottomportion of the liquid pooling space 602 in the buffer tank 60. Theprocessing liquid discharge part 63 includes a pipe 631 extendingdownward from the buffer tank 60 and a valve 632 provided on the pipe631. The processing liquid discharge part 63 discharges the processingliquid pooled in the buffer tank 60 to the outside of the substrateprocessing apparatus 1 d. The valve 632 is closed when the processing ofthe substrate 9 is performed, and the processing liquid used for theprocessing of the substrate 9 is pooled in the liquid pooling space 602of the buffer tank 60. Then, by opening the valve 632 when theprocessing of the substrate 9 is finished or the like, the processingliquid in the liquid pooling space 602 is discharged to the outside ofthe substrate processing apparatus 1 d through the pipe 631 by thegravity.

The gas discharge part 64 includes a slow leak part 621 and a forcedexhaust part 622. The slow leak part 621 and the forced exhaust part 622are connected to the buffer tank 60 in parallel. The slow leak part 621and the forced exhaust part 622 are further connected to the upper space604 over the separating space 603. It is thereby possible to prevent theprocessing liquid guided from the chamber 7 to the buffer tank 60 fromflowing in the gas discharge part 64.

The slow leak part 621 includes a throttle 623 and a valve 624 providedin this order from the side of the buffer tank 60. The forced exhaustpart 622 includes a valve 625 and a vacuum ejector 626 provided in thisorder from the side of the buffer tank 60. The vacuum ejector 626 isconnected to an air supply source 620 through a valve 627 and anelectropneumatic regulator 628. As the vacuum ejector 626, for example,the CONVUM of Myotoku Ltd. is used.

In the gas discharge part 64, the slow leak part 621 and the forcedexhaust part 622 are selectively used, to discharge the gas in thebuffer tank 60 to the outside of the substrate processing apparatus 1 d.Specifically, by opening the valve 624 and closing the valves 625 and627, the gas is discharged from the buffer space 600 in the buffer tank60 to the outside of the substrate processing apparatus 1 d through theslow leak part 621. In the slow leak part 621, by controlling the degreeof opening of the throttle 623, the flow rate of the gas to bedischarged from the buffer tank 60 is controlled.

Alternatively, by closing the valve 624 and opening the valves 625 and627, compressed air is supplied from the air supply source 620 into thevacuum ejector 626, and the gas in the buffer space 600 of the buffertank 60 is sucked by the vacuum ejector 626. The gas inside the buffertank 60 is thereby forcedly discharged to the outside of the substrateprocessing apparatus 1 d through the forced exhaust part 622.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 d, the pressure control part 112shown in FIG. 2 controls the gas supply part 61 and the gas dischargepart 64 on the basis of the output from the pressure gauge 69, tothereby control the pressure in the internal space 70 of the chamber 7.In order to increase the pressure in the internal space 70 to be higherthan the normal pressure (atmospheric pressure) to bring the internalspace 70 into a pressurized atmosphere, the first gas supply part 611 isselected in the gas supply part 61 and the slow leak part 621 isselected in the gas discharge part 64 shown in FIG. 24. Then, themassflow controller 615 of the first gas supply part 611 controls theamount of gas to be supplied into the internal space 70 of the chamber 7on the basis of a measured value of the pressure in the internal space70, which is outputted from the pressure gauge 69. In the slow leak part621, the degree of opening of the throttle 623 is constant, and the gasin the buffer tank 60 is discharged (leaked) outside through the slowleak part 621 by a small flow rate. The internal space 70 of the chamber7 and the buffer space 600 of the buffer tank 60 are thereby maintainedin a predetermined pressurized atmosphere.

On the other hand, in order to decrease the pressure in the internalspace 70 to be lower than the normal pressure to bring the internalspace 70 into a reduced pressure atmosphere, the second gas supply part612 is selected in the gas supply part 61 and the forced exhaust part622 is selected in the gas discharge part 64. Then, while the amount ofgas to be discharged from the buffer tank 60 is maintained constant bythe forced exhaust part 622, the piezoelectric valve 617 of the firstgas supply part 611 controls the amount of gas to be supplied into theinternal space 70 of the chamber 7 on the basis of the measured value ofthe pressure in the internal space 70, which is outputted from thepressure gauge 69. The internal space 70 of the chamber 7 and the bufferspace 600 of the buffer tank 60 are thereby maintained in apredetermined reduced pressure atmosphere.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 d, the flow rate of compressedair to be supplied from the air supply source 620 into the vacuumejector 626 may be controlled on the basis of the output from thepressure gauge 69 while the supply of gas from the first gas supply part611 into the chamber 7 is maintained constant. The amount of gas to bedischarged from the buffer tank 60 is thereby controlled, and theinternal space 70 of the chamber 7 and the buffer space 600 of thebuffer tank 60 are thereby maintained in a predetermined reducedpressure atmosphere.

Further, in a case where the gas is supplied into the internal space 70while the pressure in the internal space 70 is maintained at normalpressure, the first gas supply part 611 is selected in the gas supplypart 61 and the slow leak part 621 is selected in the gas discharge part64, like in the case where the internal space 70 is brought into apressurized atmosphere.

An operation flow of processing the substrate 9 in the substrateprocessing apparatus 1 d is almost the same as that of Steps S11 to S21shown in FIG. 13. In the substrate processing apparatus 1 d, in StepS14, the first processing liquid flowing out from the upper surface 91and the lower surface 92 of the substrate 9 is guided to the buffer tank60 through the connecting pipe 777. The valve 632 of the processingliquid discharge part 63 (see FIG. 24) is closed, and the processingliquid guided to the buffer tank 60 is temporarily pooled in the liquidpooling space 602 of the buffer space 600.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 d, between Steps S15 and S16,after stopping the supply of the first processing liquid from the firstprocessing liquid supply part 31, the valve 632 may be opened in theprocessing liquid discharge part 63, and after the first processingliquid in the liquid pooling space 602 is discharged to the outside ofthe substrate processing apparatus 1 d, the valve 632 may be closedagain. Further, in Step S16, the first processing liquid and the secondprocessing liquid spattering from the upper surface 91 of the substrate9 are received and guided downward by the liquid receiving surface 523of the rotor part 52 and then guided to the buffer tank 60 through theconnecting pipe 777 to be temporarily pooled in the liquid pooling space602.

In Step S18, the second processing liquid spattering from the substrate9 is received and guided downward by the liquid receiving surface 523 ofthe rotor part 52 and then guided to the buffer tank 60 through theconnecting pipe 777 to be temporarily pooled in the liquid pooling space602. In the processing liquid discharge part 63, after the valve 632 isopened and the second processing liquid in the liquid pooling space 602is discharged to the outside of the substrate processing apparatus 1 d,the valve 632 may be closed again.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing a detailed operation flow of Step S19 inthe substrate processing apparatus 1 d. In the substrate processingapparatus 1 d, first, after the pressure in the internal space 70 of thechamber 7 is decreased back to the normal pressure, the connection valve771 provided on the connecting pipe 777 shown in FIG. 24 is closed andthe internal space 70 of the chamber 7 and the buffer space 600 of thebuffer tank 60 are not continuous with each other (Step S191). Then, bydriving the forced exhaust part 622 with the connection valve 771closed, the gas in the buffer space 600 of the buffer tank 60 isdischarged to the outside of the substrate processing apparatus 1 d andthe buffer tank 60 is thereby brought into a reduced pressure atmosphere(Step S192).

After that, the connection valve 771 is opened (Step S193), and theforced exhaust part 622 is continuously driven while the internal space70 of the chamber 7 and the buffer space 600 of the buffer tank 60 arecontinuous with each other. The gas in the chamber 7 is also forcedlydischarged to the outside of the substrate processing apparatus 1 dthrough the buffer tank 60, and the internal space 70 of the chamber 7and the buffer space 600 of the buffer tank 60 are thereby brought intoa predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere (Step S194).

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 d, in Step S20, the thirdprocessing liquid spattering from the substrate 9 is also received andguided downward by the liquid receiving surface 523 of the rotor part 52and then guided to the buffer tank 60 through the connecting pipe 777 tobe temporarily pooled in the liquid pooling space 602. Further, afterStep S21, the pressure in the internal space 70 of the chamber 7 isincreased back to the normal pressure, and then, in the processingliquid discharge part 63, the valve 632 is opened and the processingliquid in the liquid pooling space 602 is discharged to the outside ofthe substrate processing apparatus 1 d.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 d, since the liquid receivingsurface 523 is provided, it is possible to quickly guide the processingliquid spattering from the substrate 9 to the lower portion of theinternal space 70 and quickly guide the processing liquid to the buffertank 60 through the connecting pipe 777. Further, since the liquidreceiving surface 523 extends upward to be higher than the upper surface91 of the substrate 9 and goes outward in the radial direction as itgoes downward, it is possible to more quickly guide the processingliquid spattering from the substrate 9 to the buffer tank 60.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 d, since the gas supply part 61for supplying gas into the internal space 70, the gas discharge part 64for discharging the gas from the internal space 70, and the pressurecontrol part 112 for controlling the pressure in the internal space 70are provided, it is possible to process the substrate 9 in variousatmospheres (for example, in a low oxygen atmosphere) and under variouspressures. It is thereby possible to shorten the time required for theprocessing of the substrate 9 and perform various processings on thesubstrate 9.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 d, as discussed above, thebuffer tank 60 which is connected to the internal space 70 of thechamber 7 through the connecting pipe 777 and temporarily pools theprocessing liquid guided from the internal space 70 is provided belowthe chamber 7. Then, the gas in the buffer space 600 of the buffer tank60 is always continuous with the gas in the internal space 70 of thechamber 7 with the gas in the connecting pipe 777 interposedtherebetween. It is thereby possible to always make the sealed internalspace 70 continuous with the gas discharge part 64 through the gas. As aresult, even in the case where processing using a large amount ofprocessing liquid is performed in the internal space 70, it is possibleto always control the pressure in the internal space 70 of the chamber 7with high accuracy and maintain the pressure in the internal space 70 ata desired pressure. Further, by supplying gas from the upper portion ofthe chamber 7 into the internal space 70 and discharging the gas fromthe lower portion of the internal space 70, a downward airflow(so-called downflow) is formed in the internal space 70. It is therebypossible to prevent particles or the like from being deposited on thesubstrate 9 and improve the cleanability of the substrate 9.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 d, the connecting pipe 777 formaking the gas in the buffer tank 60 always continuous with the gas inthe chamber 7 may be connected to an upper portion of the chambersidewall 712 or the chamber cover 73 and a barrier rib or the like forpreventing the processing liquid from reaching the connecting part maybe provided. In this case, the chamber bottom 711 is provided withanother pipe for guiding the processing liquid in the chamber 7 to thebuffer tank 60. Also this structure can always control the pressure inthe internal space 70 of the chamber 7 with high accuracy. As shown inthis preferred embodiment, however, with the structure in which theprocessing liquid in the chamber 7 is guided to the buffer tank 60through the connecting pipe 777, it is possible to simplify theconfiguration of the substrate processing apparatus 1 d.

In the gas discharge part 64, since the slow leak part 621 and theforced exhaust part 622 which are connected to the buffer tank 60 inparallel are provided, it is possible to easily control the atmospherein the internal space 70 of the chamber 7 between the pressurizedatmosphere and the reduced pressure atmosphere. Further, in Step S19,after the inside of the buffer tank 60 is brought into a reducedpressure atmosphere in advance, the buffer tank 60 is made continuouswith the chamber 7 and the pressure in the chamber 7 is decreased. It isthereby possible to quickly bring the internal space 70 of the chamber 7into a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere. The pressure in thebuffer tank 60 in Step S192 may be not lower than the respectivepressures in the chamber 7 and the buffer tank 60 in Step S194, but itis preferable that the pressure in Step S192 should be lower than thepressures in Step S194. It is thereby possible to more quickly bring theinternal space 70 of the chamber 7 into a predetermined reduced pressureatmosphere.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 d, like in the substrateprocessing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 14, the processing liquid may besupplied onto the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 from the scannozzle 35 inserted between the chamber cover 73 and the chamber body 71while the chamber cover 73 is positioned above the chamber body 71,being away therefrom. Also in this case, the processing liquidspattering from the substrate 9 is received and guided downward by theliquid receiving surface 523 of the rotor part 52. It is therebypossible to prevent the processing liquid spattering from the substrate9 from splashing back and being deposited onto the substrate 9. It isalso possible to quickly guide the processing liquid spattering from thesubstrate 9 to the buffer tank 60.

An operation flow of cleaning the inside of the chamber 7 in thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 d is almost the same as that of StepsS31 to S35 shown in FIG. 16. In the substrate processing apparatus 1 d,in Step S31, when the second processing liquid is pooled in the internalspace 70 of the chamber 7, the connection valve 711 (see FIG. 24) isclosed. In Step S33, by opening the connection valve 771 and alsoopening the valve 632 in the processing liquid discharge part 63, thesecond processing liquid in the internal space 70 is discharged togetherwith extraneous matters or the like removed from the inner surface ofthe chamber 7 to the outside of the substrate processing apparatus 1 dthrough the buffer tank 60. In Step S34, by closing the valve 632 andcontrolling the gas supply part 61 and the gas discharge part 64, theinternal space 70 and the buffer space 600 are brought into apredetermined reduced pressure atmosphere. Step S34 is executed by thesame procedure of Steps S191 to S194 shown in FIG. 25. It is therebypossible to quickly bring the inside of the chamber 7 into apredetermined reduced pressure atmosphere. In Step S35, the secondprocessing liquid deposited on the rotor part 52 and the substrateholding part 2 spatters into the surroundings, being guided to the lowerportion of the internal space 70, and is guided to the buffer tank 60through the connecting pipe 777.

FIG. 26 is a view showing in detail another preferable configurationrelating to the control of the pressure in the internal space 70 of thechamber 7. In FIG. 26, the gas supply part 61 is not shown. In theexemplary configuration of FIG. 26, three buffer tanks 60 a, 60 b, and60 c are provided below the chamber 7. In the following discussion, thebuffer tanks 60 a, 60 b, and 60 c are referred to as a “first buffertank 60 a”, a “second buffer tank 60 b”, and a “third buffer tank 60 c”,respectively.

The first buffer tank 60 a, the second buffer tank 60 b, and the thirdbuffer tank 60 c are connected in parallel to the internal space 70 ofthe chamber 7 through the connecting pipe 777. The connecting pipe 777is provided with three connection valves 771 corresponding to the firstbuffer tank 60 a, the second buffer tank 60 b, and the third buffer tank60 c, respectively, and by switching opening/closing of these connectionvalves 771, the first buffer tank 60 a, the second buffer tank 60 b, andthe third buffer tank 60 c are selectively used. The gas in the usedbuffer tank is always continuous with the gas in the internal space 70of the chamber 7 with the gas in the connecting pipe 777 interposedtherebetween.

The above-described processing liquid discharge part 63 is connected toeach of the first buffer tank 60 a, the second buffer tank 60 b, and thethird buffer tank 60 c. To an upper portion of the first buffer tank 60a, connected is the above-described forced exhaust part 622 as a gasdischarge part 64 a. To an upper portion of the second buffer tank 60 b,connected is the above-described slow leak part 621 as a gas dischargepart 64 b. To an upper portion of the third buffer tank 60 c, connectedis a discharge pipe which is open to the air as a gas discharge part 64c.

In the exemplary configuration of FIG. 26, when the etching process isperformed in the pressurized atmosphere in Step S15, the second buffertank 60 b connected to the slow leak part 621 is selectively used. Thefirst processing liquid which is an etching solution is temporarilypooled in the second buffer tank 60 b and then collected through theprocessing liquid discharge part 63. The collected first processingliquid is recycled for the substrate processings or the like in thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 d after removing impurities andperforming the like processes.

Further, when the rinse process is performed under normal pressure inStep S16, the third buffer tank 60 c is selectively used, and the secondprocessing liquid which is a rinse liquid is temporarily pooled in thethird buffer tank 60 c. The second processing liquid is discharged tothe outside of the substrate processing apparatus 1 d through theprocessing liquid discharge part 63 and discarded.

When the drying process is performed in the reduced pressure atmospherein Step S20, the first buffer tank 60 a connected to the forced exhaustpart 622 is selectively used. The third processing liquid which isisopropyl alcohol (IPA) is temporarily pooled in the first buffer tank60 a and then collected through the processing liquid discharge part 63.The collected third processing liquid is recycled for the substrateprocessings or the like in the substrate processing apparatus 1 d afterremoving impurities and performing the like processes.

Thus, in the exemplary configuration of FIG. 26, the first buffer tank60 a, the second buffer tank 60 b, and the third buffer tank 60 c areselectively used, and it is thereby possible to collect a plurality ofkinds of processing liquids individually and increase the collectionefficiency of the processing liquid. Further, since a plurality ofbuffer tanks are provided, it is possible to reduce the volumetriccapacity of each buffer tank. As a result, it is possible to reduce thetime required to increase or decrease the pressure in the internal space70 of the chamber 7.

In the exemplary configuration of FIG. 26, the slow leak part 621 andthe forced exhaust part 622 may be connected to each of the first buffertank 60 a, the second buffer tank 60 b, and the third buffer tank 60 c.In this case, since the buffer tank which is not connected to theinternal space 70 of the chamber 7 in the reduced pressure atmosphere isbrought into the reduced pressure atmosphere in advance like in theinternal space 70, it is possible to switch from the currently usedbuffer tank to another buffer tank while preventing variation in thepressure in the chamber 7 during the processing of the substrate 9 inthe reduced pressure atmosphere. Further, if a gas supply part like theabove-described gas supply part 61 is connected to each of the buffertanks, it is possible to switch the buffer tank while preventingvariation in the pressure in the chamber 7, even during the processingof the substrate 9 in the pressurized atmosphere.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 d, the rotor part 52 may beprovided with the protective wall 525 shown in FIG. 18. In this case,the processing liquid from the substrate 9 is guided downward by theprotective wall 525 and further guided to the buffer tank 60 (see FIG.23) through the connecting pipe 777 provided below the internal space70. Further, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 d, instead of thestator part 51 and the rotor part 52 shown in FIG. 23, the stator part51 a and the rotor part 52 a shown in FIG. 19 may be provided and thechamber sidewall 712 may have the same shape as that shown in FIG. 19.In this case, the processing liquid on the upper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9 is guided to the connecting pipe 777 provided below theinternal space 70 through the flow channel 534 and further guided to thebuffer tank 60 through the connecting pipe 777.

FIG. 27 is a cross section showing a substrate processing apparatus 1 ein accordance with the sixth preferred embodiment of the presentinvention. In the substrate processing apparatus 1 e, a connecting pipeand a buffer tank like the connecting pipe 777 and the buffer tank 60 inthe substrate processing apparatus 1 d shown in FIG. 23, respectively,are connected to the liquid collecting part 8 in the substrateprocessing apparatus 1 c shown in FIG. 20. Except the above constituentelements, the substrate processing apparatus 1 e has almost the sameconstitution as that of the substrate processing apparatus 1 c shown inFIG. 20, and in the following description, constituent elementsidentical to or corresponding to those of the substrate processingapparatus 1 c are represented by the same reference signs.

As shown in FIG. 27, to the bottom portion of the first liquid receivingpart 81, connected is a first connecting pipe 777 a, and the firstbuffer tank 60 a shown in FIG. 26 is connected to the first liquidreceiving part 81 through the first connecting pipe 777 a. To the firstbuffer tank 60 a, connected are the gas discharge part 64 a and theprocessing liquid discharge part 63 as shown in FIG. 26. The processingliquid received by the first liquid receiving part 81 shown in FIG. 27is guided to the first buffer tank 60 a through the first connectingpipe 777 a and temporarily pooled therein. Further, the processingliquid supplied onto the lower surface 92 of the substrate 9 and thelike and dropped onto the center portion 711 a of the chamber bottom 711is guided to a not-shown buffer tank through a connecting pipe 777 dprovided at the center portion 711 a.

To a bottom portion of the second liquid receiving part 82, provided isa second connecting pipe 777 b, and the second buffer tank 60 b isconnected to the second liquid receiving part 82 through the secondconnecting pipe 777 b. The processing liquid received by the secondliquid receiving part 82 is guided to the second buffer tank 60 bthrough the second connecting pipe 777 b and temporarily pooled therein.Further, to a bottom portion of the third liquid receiving part 83,provided is a third connecting pipe 777 c, and the third buffer tank 60c is connected to the third liquid receiving part 83 through the thirdconnecting pipe 777 c. The processing liquid received by the thirdliquid receiving part 83 is guided to the third buffer tank 60 c throughthe third connecting pipe 777 c and temporarily pooled therein.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 e, like in the substrateprocessing apparatus 1 c of FIG. 20, the second liquid receiving part 82and the third liquid receiving part 83 are moved in the verticaldirection by the liquid receiving part up-and-down moving mechanisms 823and 833, respectively, and the receipt of the processing liquid by thefirst liquid receiving part 81, that of the processing liquid by thesecond liquid receiving part 82, and that of the processing liquid bythe third liquid receiving part 83 are thereby selectively switched.Then, the respective processing liquids received by the first liquidreceiving part 81, the second liquid receiving part 82, and the thirdliquid receiving part 83 are temporarily pooled in the first buffer tank60 a, the second buffer tank 60 b, and the third buffer tank 60 c,respectively.

In the substrate processing of above-discussed Steps S11 to S21, in StepS15, by using the slow leak part 621 of the gas discharge part 64 bconnected to the second buffer tank 60 b, the internal space 70 of thechamber 7 and the inside of the second buffer tank 60 b are brought intoa pressurized atmosphere. Then, between the etching process in Step S15and the rinse process in Step S16, the liquid collecting part 8 isbrought into the second liquid receiving state shown in FIG. 28 and thenumber of rotation of the substrate 9 is increased. The first processingliquid which is an etching solution spatters from the substrate 9, andis received by the second liquid receiving part 82 and temporarilypooled in the second buffer tank 60 b. The first processing liquid inthe second buffer tank 60 b is discharged to the outside of thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 e by the processing liquid dischargepart 63 (see FIG. 26) and collected, and recycled for the substrateprocessings or the like in the substrate processing apparatus 1 e afterremoving impurities and performing the like processes.

Subsequently, after the liquid receiving part up-and-down movingmechanism 833 is driven to bring the liquid collecting part 8 into thethird liquid receiving state shown in FIG. 29, by performing the rinseprocess in Step S16, the second processing liquid which is deionizedwater spatters together with the first processing liquid remaining onthe substrate 9 from the substrate 9, and the processing liquids arereceived by the third liquid receiving part 83 and temporarily pooled inthe third buffer tank 60 c. Further, in Steps S17 and S18, the secondprocessing liquid spattering from the substrate 9 is also received bythe third liquid receiving part 83 and temporarily pooled in the thirdbuffer tank 60 c. The second processing liquid in the third buffer tank60 c is discharged to the outside of the substrate processing apparatus1 e by the processing liquid discharge part 63 and discarded.

Next, after the liquid receiving part up-and-down moving mechanisms 823and 833 are driven to bring the liquid collecting part 8 into the firstliquid receiving state shown in FIG. 27, in Step S19, by using theforced exhaust part 622 of the gas discharge part 64 a (see FIG. 26)connected to the first buffer tank 60 a, the internal space 70 of thechamber 7 and the inside of the first buffer tank 60 a are brought intoa reduced pressure atmosphere. Then, by performing the drying process inStep S20, the third processing liquid which is isopropyl alcohol (IPA)spatters from the substrate 9, and the third processing liquid isreceived by the first liquid receiving part 81 and temporarily pooled inthe first buffer tank 60 a. The third processing liquid in the firstbuffer tank 60 a is discharged to the outside of the substrateprocessing apparatus 1 e by the processing liquid discharge part 63 andcollected, and recycled for the substrate processings or the like in thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 e after removing impurities andperforming the like processes.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 e, as discussed above, the firstbuffer tank 60 a, the second buffer tank 60 b, and the third buffer tank60 c are connected to the first liquid receiving part 81, the secondliquid receiving part 82, and the third liquid receiving part 83,respectively. Then, when the processing of the substrate 9 is performed,the first buffer tank 60 a, the second buffer tank 60 b, and the thirdbuffer tank 60 c are selectively used. The gas in the used buffer tankis always continuous with the gas in the internal space 70 of thechamber 7 with the gas in the connecting pipe interposed therebetween.It is thereby possible to always control the pressure in the internalspace 70 of the chamber 7 with high accuracy and maintain the pressurein the internal space 70 at a desired pressure, like in the substrateprocessing apparatus 1 d of FIG. 23.

Though the preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendiscussed above, the present invention is not limited to theabove-discussed preferred embodiments, but allows various variations.

For example, the respective shapes and structures of the stator parts 51and 51 a and the rotor parts 52, 52 a, and 52 b in the substraterotating mechanism 5 may be changed in various ways. The structures ofthe chuck parts 21 and 21 a in the substrate holding part 2 and thepositions where the chuck parts 21 and 21 a are attached to the rotorpart may be changed in various ways. For example, there may be a casewhere the substrate 9 is held by the substrate holding part 2 while thechuck parts are attached to an upper portion of the rotor part and thelower surface 92 of the substrate 9 is positioned to be higher than theupper end of the rotor part.

In the chuck part 21 of FIG. 4, one rotation axis 25 does notnecessarily have to serve both as the rotation axis of the substratesupporting part 22 and as that of the substrate retaining part 23, butthe substrate supporting part 22 and the substrate retaining part 23 mayhave respective rotation axes. Further, adjacently to the substratesupporting part 22, only one substrate retaining part 23 may beprovided, or three or more substrate retaining parts 23 may be provided.A surface of the substrate supporting part 22 which is in contact withthe substrate 9 and a surface of the substrate retaining part 23 whichis in contact with the substrate 9 may extend in the horizontaldirection.

The above-discussed rotor part do not necessarily have to rotate in afloating state, but a structure such as guide or the like formechanically support the rotor part is provided in the internal space 70and the rotor part may rotate along the guide.

In the rotor part 52 of FIG. 9, if the processing liquid from thesubstrate 9 does not spatter a lot up to be higher than the liquidreceiving surface 523, the annular protruding portion 524 does notnecessarily have to be provided. Further, the liquid receiving surface523 does not necessarily have to be a sloped surface which goes outwardin the radial direction as it goes downward, but may be, for example, acylindrical surface in substantially parallel to the vertical direction.In the substrate processing apparatus 1 b of FIG. 19, only if the flowchannel 534 is formed between the rotor part 52 a and the flow channelforming part 715, the lower surface 716 of the flow channel forming part715 does not necessarily have to be a smooth sloped surface whichgradually goes downward as it goes outward in the radial direction butmay have various shapes.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 c of FIG. 20 and the substrateprocessing apparatus 1 e of FIG. 27, when it is not necessary toindividually collect a plurality of kinds of processing liquids, thesecond liquid receiving part 82 and the third liquid receiving part 83may be omitted. Further, even when the processing using a large amountof processing liquid is performed while the chamber 7 is sealed, only ifthe processing liquid spattering from the substrate 9 can be dischargedto the outside of the chamber 7 while the processing liquid is preventedfrom being deposited on the substrate 9 again, the first liquidreceiving part 81 may be also omitted. In this case, in the substrateprocessing apparatus 1 e, the first buffer tank 60 a, the second buffertank 60 b, and the third buffer tank 60 c shown in FIG. 27 are connectedto the chamber 7 in parallel through the connecting pipe 777.

In the above-discussed substrate processing apparatuses, load and unloadof the substrate 9 into/from the chamber 7 may be performed by variousmechanisms other than the above-discussed substrate moving mechanism 4.Further, in the chamber cover 73, the cover protruding portion 731 doesnot necessarily have to be provided.

In the processing of Steps S11 to S21, the heating of the substrate 9 bythe heating part 79 in Step S13 may be performed while the internalspace 70 of the chamber 7 is brought into the reduced pressureatmosphere. It is thereby prevent heat from transferring from thesubstrate 9 to the surrounding gas and heat the substrate 9 in a shortertime as compared with under normal pressure. Further, the heating part79 is not limited to a heater. For example, the chamber bottom 711 andthe chamber cover 73 are formed of a material such as quartz or the likehaving transparency, and by emitting light to the substrate 9 from alight emitting part through the chamber bottom 711 and the chamber cover73, the substrate 9 may be heated.

The coating of the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 with the firstprocessing liquid in Step S14 may be performed while the internal space70 of the chamber 7 is brought into the reduced pressure atmosphere.Since the first processing liquid thereby quickly spreads on the uppersurface 91 of the substrate 9 from the center portion to the outerperipheral portion thereof, it is possible to coat the upper surface 91of the substrate 9 with the first processing liquid in a shorter time ascompared with under normal pressure. Further, since the amount of gas inthe pattern gap on the substrate 9 is reduced as compared with undernormal pressure, the first processing liquid supplied onto the uppersurface 91 of the substrate 9 can more easily enter the pattern gap. Itis thereby possible to more appropriately perform the etching process inthe pattern gap.

In Step S16, while the internal space 70 of the chamber 7 is broughtinto the reduced pressure atmosphere, after the upper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9 is coated with the second processing liquid, the pressure inthe internal space 70 may be increased back to the normal pressure.Since the second processing liquid thereby quickly spreads on the uppersurface 91 of the substrate 9 from the center portion to the outerperipheral portion thereof, it is possible to replace the firstprocessing liquid with the second processing liquid and coat the uppersurface 91 of the substrate 9 with the second processing liquid in ashorter time as compared with under normal pressure. Further, byincreasing the pressure in the internal space 70 after coating the uppersurface 91 of the substrate 9 with the second processing liquid, thesecond processing liquid is squeezed into the pattern gap. As a result,the second processing liquid can more easily enter the pattern gap, andit is thereby possible to more reliably replace the first processingliquid with the second processing liquid.

In Step S16, the rinse process may be performed on the substrate 9 whilethe internal space 70 of the chamber 7 is brought into the pressurizedatmosphere. It is thereby possible to more reliably prevent the secondprocessing liquid on the substrate 9 from vaporizing as compared withunder normal pressure and prevent the temperature of the substrate 9from being decreased by the heat of vaporization as it goes from thecenter portion to the outer peripheral portion of the substrate 9. As aresult, it is possible to improve the uniformity in the temperature ofthe upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 in the rinse process using thesecond processing liquid, and further possible to improve the uniformityin the rinse process in the entire upper surface 91 of the substrate 9.It is also possible to improve the uniformity in the rinse process inthe entire lower surface 92 of the substrate 9.

The coating of the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 with the thirdprocessing liquid in Step S17 may be performed while the internal space70 of the chamber 7 is brought into the reduced pressure atmosphere.Since the third processing liquid thereby quickly spreads on the uppersurface 91 of the substrate 9 from the center portion to the outerperipheral portion thereof, it is possible to coat the upper surface 91of the substrate 9 with the third processing liquid in a shorter time ascompared with under normal pressure.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 d of FIG. 23, in Step S19, thebuffer tank 60 which are brought into the reduced pressure atmosphere inadvance do not necessarily have to be connected to the chamber 7, butthe buffer tank 60 and the chamber 7 which are connected to each otherthrough the connecting pipe 777 under normal pressure may be broughtinto the reduced pressure atmosphere. Further, if a gas supply part likethe gas supply part 61 is connected to the buffer tank 60, when theinternal space 70 of the chamber 7 is brought into the pressurizedatmosphere in Steps S15 and S18, the buffer space 600 of the buffer tank60 is brought into the pressurized atmosphere in advance, and then thepressure in the internal space 70 of the chamber 7 may be increased byopening the connection valve 771. It is thereby possible to more quicklybring the internal space 70 of the chamber 7 into a predeterminedpressurized atmosphere.

In the processing of the substrate 9, it is not always necessary tosupply the processing liquid onto the lower surface 92 of the substrate9. Further, in the above-discussed substrate processing apparatuses,various processings other than the processes shown in Steps S11 to S21may be performed by supplying various kinds of processing liquids ontothe substrate 9. The atmosphere in the internal space 70 of the chamber7 may be changed in various ways.

In Steps S31 to S35, a processing liquid other than the deionized water(e.g., dilute hydrochloric acid or hydrogen peroxide water) may bepooled in the internal space 70 of the chamber 7, and the inside of thechamber 7 may be cleaned by using such a processing liquid. Further,after the cleaning process using the processing liquid other than thedeionized water, the cleaning process of Steps S31 to S35 may beperformed again by using the deionized water as the processing liquid.Furthermore, the processing liquid used in Steps S31 to S35 may besupplied to the inside of the chamber 7 by the first processing liquidsupply part 31 or the third processing liquid supply part 33 through thefirst upper nozzle 75 shown in FIG. 1, or may be supplied to the insideof the chamber 7 through the scan nozzle 35 shown in FIG. 14 or othernozzles.

The configurations in the above-discussed preferred embodiments andvariations may be combined as appropriate only if those do not conflictwith one another.

While the invention has been shown and described in detail, theforegoing description is in all aspects illustrative and notrestrictive. It is therefore understood that numerous modifications andvariations can be devised without departing from the scope of theinvention. This application claims priority benefit under 35 U.S.C.Section 119 of Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-177600 filed in theJapan Patent Office on Aug. 9, 2012, Japanese Patent Application No.2012-190473 filed in the Japan Patent Office on Aug. 30, 2012, JapanesePatent Application No. 2012-190472 filed in the Japan Patent Office onAug. 30, 2012, Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-212786 filed in theJapan Patent Office on Sep. 26, 2012, and Japanese Patent ApplicationNo. 2012-212787 filed in the Japan Patent Office on Sep. 26, 2012, theentire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   1, 1 a to 1 e Substrate processing apparatus-   2 Substrate holding part-   5 Substrate rotating mechanism-   7 Chamber-   9 Substrate-   11 Control part-   22 Substrate supporting part-   23 Substrate retaining part-   25 Rotation axis-   31 First processing liquid supply part-   32 Second processing liquid supply part-   33 Third processing liquid supply part-   35 Scan nozzle-   41 Lift pin-   42 Lift pin moving mechanism-   51, 51 a Stator part-   52, 52 a, 52 b Rotor part-   60 Buffer tank-   60 a First buffer tank-   60 b Second buffer tank-   60 c Third buffer tank-   61 Gas supply part-   62 Suction part-   63 Processing liquid discharge part-   64, 64 a to 64 c Gas discharge part-   70 Internal space-   71 Chamber body-   73 Chamber cover-   75 First upper nozzle-   76 Lower nozzle-   91 Upper surface (of Substrate)-   92 Lower surface (of Substrate)-   112 Pressure control part-   222 First stopper-   223 First substrate contact part-   224 First anchor part-   225 First contact surface-   232 Second stopper-   233 Second substrate contact part-   234 Second anchor part-   235 Second contact surface-   411 Tip portion-   521 Permanent magnet-   523 Liquid receiving surface-   524 Annular protruding portion-   525 Protective wall-   526 Upper end (of Protective wall)-   527 Lower end (of Protective wall)-   533 Upper surface (of Rotor part)-   534 Flow channel-   535 Annular opening-   621 Slow leak part-   622 Forced exhaust part-   711 Chamber bottom-   715 Flow channel forming part-   731 Cover protruding portion-   771 Connection valve-   777, 777 a to 777 d Connecting pipe-   812 First collecting part-   822 Second collecting part-   832 Third collecting part-   J1 Central axis-   S11 to S21, S31 to S35, S191 to S194 Step

The invention claimed is:
 1. A substrate processing apparatus forprocessing a substrate, comprising: a chamber having a chamber body anda chamber cover and forming an internal space which is sealed by closingan upper opening of said chamber body by said chamber cover; a substrateholding part disposed in said internal space of said chamber, forholding a substrate horizontally; a substrate rotating mechanism forrotating said substrate together with said substrate holding part abouta central axis oriented in a vertical direction; a processing liquiddischarge part for discharging a processing liquid supplied onto saidsubstrate to the outside of said chamber, a plurality of lift pinsarranged in a circumferential direction about said central axis andprotruding downward from said chamber cover; and a lift pin movingmechanism for moving said plurality of lift pins in said verticaldirection relative to said chamber cover, wherein said substraterotating mechanism comprises: an annular rotor part disposed in saidinternal space of said chamber, to which said substrate holding part isattached; and a stator part disposed around said rotor part outside saidchamber, for generating a rotating force between itself and said rotorpart, wherein respective tip portions of said plurality of lift pins aremoved down from an escape position to a transfer position by said liftpin moving mechanism, and said substrate is transferred between saidplurality of lift pins and said substrate holding part at said transferposition.
 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,wherein said chamber cover comprises a cover protruding portionprotruding downward on an inner side relative to said plurality of liftpins in a radial direction about said central axis.
 3. The substrateprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said processingliquid discharge part discharges said processing liquid from a lowerportion of said internal space, said rotor part is disposed around saidsubstrate holding part, and said rotor part comprises a liquid receivingsurface opposed to an outer peripheral edge of said substrate in aradial direction, for receiving said processing liquid spattering fromsaid outer peripheral edge of said substrate and guiding said processingliquid downward.
 4. The substrate processing apparatus according toclaim 3, wherein said liquid receiving surface extends upward to behigher than an upper surface of said substrate and goes outward in saidradial direction as it goes downward.
 5. The substrate processingapparatus according to claim 3, wherein said rotor part furthercomprises an annular protruding portion protruding inward in said radialdirection at an upper side of said liquid receiving surface.
 6. Thesubstrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said rotorpart further comprises: an annular permanent magnet, and a protectivewall disposed between said permanent magnet and said substrate, forisolating said permanent magnet from said substrate, an upper end ofsaid protective wall is opposed to a lower surface of said chamber coverwith a very narrow gap interposed therebetween, a lower end of saidprotective wall is opposed to an inner surface of said chamber body witha very narrow gap interposed therebetween, and said liquid receivingsurface is provided between said upper end and said lower end of saidprotective wall.
 7. The substrate processing apparatus according toclaim 3, wherein said rotor part rotates, being in a floating state insaid internal space, by magnetic force exerted between itself and saidstator part.
 8. A substrate processing apparatus for processing asubstrate, comprising: a chamber having a chamber body and a chambercover and forming an internal space which is sealed by closing an upperopening of said chamber body by said chamber cover; a substrate holdingpart disposed in said internal space of said chamber, for holding asubstrate horizontally; a substrate rotating mechanism for rotating saidsubstrate together with said substrate holding part about a central axisoriented in a vertical direction; and a processing liquid discharge partfor discharging a processing liquid supplied onto said substrate to theoutside of said chamber, wherein said substrate rotating mechanismcomprises: an annular rotor part disposed in said internal space of saidchamber, to which said substrate holding part is attached; and a statorpart disposed around said rotor part outside said chamber, forgenerating a rotating force between itself and said rotor part, whereinsaid substrate holding part comprises: a plurality of substratesupporting parts for supporting said substrate from below; and aplurality of substrate retaining parts for retaining said substrate fromabove, each substrate supporting part of said plurality of substratesupporting parts is rotatable about a first rotation axis orientedhorizontally between a first waiting position and a first holdingposition and rotates from said first waiting position to said firstholding position by placing said substrate on a first substrate contactpart, to thereby support said substrate from below, and each substrateretaining part of said plurality of substrate retaining parts isrotatable about a second rotation axis oriented horizontally between asecond waiting position and a second holding position and rotates fromsaid second waiting position to said second holding position bycentrifugal force due to rotation performed by said substrate rotatingmechanism, to thereby retain said substrate from above at a secondsubstrate contact part.
 9. The substrate processing apparatus accordingto claim 8, wherein said first rotation axis of said each substratesupporting part is the same as said second rotation axis of one of saidplurality of substrate retaining parts which is disposed adjacently tosaid each substrate supporting part.
 10. The substrate processingapparatus according to claim 8, wherein two substrate retaining partsare arranged adjacently to said each substrate supporting part on bothsides thereof in a circumferential direction.
 11. The substrateprocessing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said each substratesupporting part is positioned at said first holding position while saidfirst substrate contact part has a sloped surface which goes downward asit goes inward in a radial direction about said central axis and anouter edge of said substrate is in contact with said sloped surface. 12.The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein saideach substrate retaining part is positioned at said second holdingposition while said second substrate contact part has a sloped surfacewhich goes upward as it goes inward in a radial direction about saidcentral axis and an outer edge of said substrate is in contact with saidsloped surface.
 13. The substrate processing apparatus according toclaim 8, wherein said each substrate supporting part comprises: a firstanchor part positioned lower than said first rotation axis; and a firststopper for limiting a movement of said first anchor part at the timewhen said substrate is placed on said first substrate contact part. 14.The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein saidrotor part rotates, being in a floating state in said internal space, bymagnetic force exerted between itself and said stator part.
 15. Thesubstrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein saidprocessing liquid discharge part discharges said processing liquid froma lower portion of said internal space, said rotor part is disposedaround said substrate holding part, and said rotor part comprises aliquid receiving surface opposed to an outer peripheral edge of saidsubstrate in a radial direction, for receiving said processing liquidspattering from said outer peripheral edge of said substrate and guidingsaid processing liquid downward.
 16. The substrate processing apparatusaccording to claim 15, wherein said liquid receiving surface extendsupward to be higher than an upper surface of said substrate and goesoutward in said radial direction as it goes downward.
 17. The substrateprocessing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said rotor partfurther comprises an annular protruding portion protruding inward insaid radial direction at an upper side of said liquid receiving surface.18. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 15, whereinsaid rotor part further comprises: an annular permanent magnet, and aprotective wall disposed between said permanent magnet and saidsubstrate, for isolating said permanent magnet from said substrate, anupper end of said protective wall is opposed to a lower surface of saidchamber cover with a very narrow gap interposed therebetween, a lowerend of said protective wall is opposed to an inner surface of saidchamber body with a very narrow gap interposed therebetween, and saidliquid receiving surface is provided between said upper end and saidlower end of said protective wall.
 19. The substrate processingapparatus according to claim 15, wherein said rotor part rotates, beingin a floating state in said internal space, by magnetic force exertedbetween itself and said stator part.